Estella MacLaren and Nicholas Ansdell-Evans win the Sir David Willcocks Carol Competition

Estella MacLaren and Nicholas Ansdell-Evans win the Sir David Willcocks Carol Competition

The judges this year were David Hill, Bob Chilcott, and Jonathan Willcocks.




17-and-under category - Winner was Estella MacLaren for her carol "Spellbound" which is based on a short poem by Emily Brontê.



18-and-over category



Winner was Nicholas Ansdell-Evans for his carol "And I, Joseph". According to the Bach Choir's website:



"Nicholas’ winning carol, And I, Joseph, is about the moment of Jesus’ birth, in which Joseph sees everything suddenly come to a complete halt. For an instant the entire world is motionless – the birds are at a standstill unmoving in the sky and a flowing stream halts. In Nicholas’ astute words, God comes to us in stillness. The text that details this moment is taken from the Protogospel (infancy gospel) of James.

Honorable mentions were given to:
Stephen G Potts – A Christmas Greeting – the judges commended this carol’s engaging writing for unaccompanied choir
Thomas Alban – Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening – the judges commended this carol’s well-handled ending
John Whittaker – The Star Carol – the judges commended this carol’s rhythmic interest and the excellent writing for organ
Zebulon M Highben – There is No Rose – the judges commended this carol’s engaging, folk-like quality and noted that it is likely to be popular with singers
Yipeng Xu – Ring Out, Wild Bells – the judges highly commended this carol’s energy (17-and-under)
Edward Harris-Brown – Ring Out, Wild Bells – the judges highly commended this carol’s sophisticated writing (17-and-under)
From Bach Choir's Website.

For more information, go to: https://thebachchoir.org.uk/carol-competition/.