On top of the world - Ebrington Primary School and Thornhill College win BBC Northern Ireland School Choir Of The Year

Thornhill College and Ebrington Primary School, Londonderry have been named as Northern Ireland’s top senior and junior school choirs in the live final of BBC Northern Ireland School Choir Of The Year.

Published: 8 April 2019

Presented by John Toal and Kerry McLean, the final was broadcast from the Ulster Hall, Belfast, on BBC Radio Ulster earlier today, and recorded for a special highlights programme for BBC NI television to be shown on BBC One Northern Ireland, Sunday 14 April at 5.30pm.

Sixty-two choirs battled it out over the course of the past eight weeks and six schools from across Northern Ireland took part in the live final, with three competing respectively in the junior and senior categories.

The awards to the two schools were presented by guest judge Carrie Grant, vocal coach, singer and television presenter.

The rest of the judging panel was made up of Ciaran Scullion, Head of Music, Arts Council for Northern Ireland; Richard Yarr, Senior Producer Classical Music, BBC Radio Ulster, and Andrew Nunn, Musical Director with the Ulster Youth Choir.

Each choir was invited to perform two songs and the judges decided which two choirs from the junior and senior categories would go head to head to pick up the two titles.

The choirs taking part in the Junior category final were: 

  • Pond Park Primary School, Lisburn
  • Ebrington Primary School, Londonderry
  • Macosquin Primary School, Coleraine

In the Senior category competing in the final were:

  • Carrickfergus Grammar School
  • Thornhill College, Derry
  • Dalriada School, Ballymoney

Thornhill College performed The Seal Lullaby and De Angelis, while Ebrington Primary School performed I Am A Small Part Of The World and Get On Board.

In the junior category Macosquin Primary from Coleraine and Pond Park Primary School, Lisburn were runners-up, and it was Dalriada School and Carrickfergus Grammar who were runners-up in the senior category.

The two-hour live radio programme also included a performance from the Ulster Youth Chamber Choir, followed by flautist Andrew Douglas, one of the recipients of the BBC NI/Arts Council for Northern Ireland (ACNI) Young Musicians’ Platform Awards, accompanied by Ruth McGinley.

BBC Northern Ireland School Choir of the Year is produced in association with the Ulster Youth Choir, and supported by ACNI.

The winning choirs will feature across a range of programming and events during this year.

If you missed the radio programme, catch it again via the BBC Sounds app. And for additional content check out Twitter #SCOTY and pictures go to: bbc.co.uk/scoty

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Main image: Thornhill College, winners of the senior section of BBC Northern Ireland School Choir Of The Year at the Ulster Hall, Belfast.
Above: Ebrington Primary School, winners of the junior section of BBC Northern Ireland School Choir Of The Year at the Ulster Hall, Belfast.

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