BBC Radio 3 today announced its annual carol competition finalists. The entrants, all amateur composers, were asked to set Roger McGough’s specially commissioned poem Comes the Light. Judith Weir, Master of the Queen’s Music, and conductor of the BBC Singers David Hill were part of the jury that selected the finalists carols from entries across the country.
The six finalists will have their carol performed live on Radio 3 Breakfast by the BBC Singers throughout the coming week. The winner of the competition will be decided by public vote, and the triumphant carol will be performed live on Radio 3’s Breakfast on Wednesday 23 December.
The finalists are:
Ann Burgess from Somerset
Julie Cane from Kent
Martin Carling from North Yorkshire
Diana Hamilton from the Isle of Arran in Scotland
Alec McGregor from Leicester
Michael Silk from Essex