Posts Tagged ‘chorister of the year’
Olivia Hunt’s Chorister of the Year experience
Olivia Hunt writes
“I woke up on Thursday 22nd so excited! In just over 3 hours I would be in London for the final of BBC Chorister of the Year 2009!
I went down to London on the train with my mum and when we arrived we dropped our bags off at our hotel then had to walk all the way to Oxford Street to find food (me with my broken ankle!)
On the day of the competition I woke up with a mixture of nerves and excitement. I got to Saint Paul’s at 9.15am and after meeting everyone and chatting to them all about themselves, it was time to rehearse. We went in the order that we would be performing (meaning that I went on 3rd out of 4) . After a quick break we practiced the winners’ duet (The Lord Bless You and Keep You – John Rutter) and then we got to meet the man himself – Aled Jones!! We had lunch, but we were all so nervous that none of us could eat! After lunch we did a full run-through to check sound and balance, but then we had to wait an agonising 2 hours until the actual competition!
When it was finally time to go on, I was so nervous! As we stood there in the wings waiting to go on we all wished each other good luck and said how amazing everyone was (they all were!)
I walked out into the middle and was stood in front of a nave packed full of almost 2000 people! – Eeek!!
I could see the smiley faces of Mr Rushforth and Mr Hartwell-Jones wishing me good luck, but the waiting was still horrible and it just added to the nerves. When it was time for me to get up and sing it was amazing – I only had a slight limp. Looking down the nave of the huge cathedral was a little daunting (to say the least!) but once I got into the pieces it was fine and the nerves went away.
Once I’d finished singing, there was nothing left to do but wait for the judges’ decision. The judges took so long to decide that Only Men Aloud (winners of Last Choir Standing 2008) had to sing another piece!
It was the moment of truth. I was sat next to Jacquelyne Hill (the girl who won) who was the other half of the final two with me. We were both so nervous that we didn’t hear who’s name Aled said – she though it was me and I thought it was her!
After she’d sung the winners’ duet with Laurence Kilsby (The Boy Chorister of the Year) I went to see a very happy Mr Hartwell-Jones and Mr Rushforth (I even thought I saw a tear in his eye at one point!). The after party was amazing and I talked to loads of people including Simon Lole (the composer) and Carrie Grant (vocal coach, singer and judge of Chorister of the Year).
I made so many new friends, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life – I will cherish the memories for ever.”
