Banbridge teen hits right notes with BBC TV judges
A teenager from Co Down is aiming to become the BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2020 in Sunday’s BBC One grand final, Ralph Hewitt reports in The Belfast Telegraph
Leah Radcliffe (17) from Banbridge reached the illustrious final of the joint Songs of Praise and BBC Radio 2 competition after she performed ‘The Power of the Cross’.
The Year 13 Banbridge Academy pupil — as well as the other five finalists — was mentored by Welsh mezzo-soprano singer Katherine Jenkins in London a week before the final.
Songs of Praise: Young Chorister of the Year will air on BBC One this Sunday at 1.15pm and will be hosted by Rev Kate Bottley.
The semi-final and final were filmed in September in Gorton Monastery, Manchester, and the judges include composer John Rutter, singer Laura Wright and organist Carl Jackson.
Leah, who regularly sings at Scarva Street Presbyterian Church in Banbridge, was praised by Katherine Jenkins in the semi-final, which was on television screens on November 22.
She described Leah’s voice as “beautiful” and “emotional”.
“Leah is such a lovely, sweet girl,” she said in the semi-final. “I love her voice, it’s very emotional.
“I’m not sure we’ve had a non-traditional modern worship voice before but her song choices are lovely.”
Leah will be singing the Christmas song ‘Mary Did You Know?’ this Sunday and will be watching the show with her dad Gregg, mum Wendy, twin sister Nadia and elder sister Courtney.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph ahead of the airing of Sunday’s final, Leah, who is studying English literature, drama, and health and social care for her AS-levels, said it has been difficult trying to keep the final result a secret since filming in September.
It was Leah’s granny who first suggested she entered the competition after watching an episode of Songs of Praise.
“We looked into the details of the competition and thought what an amazing opportunity it would be,” Leah explained.
“I had to send away two videos around March or April.
“One was a normal worship song and the other was a Christmas piece.
“I wasn’t expecting to hear anything back but it was in August I was told I got through to the semi-final.”
On meeting Katherine Jenkins, who was “really nice”, Leah said she was “starstruck” at first but was delighted to take on board her suggestions.
Looking ahead to this Sunday’s final, she added: “Everyone has been trying to get the final result out of me.
“There was so much talent in the final because the other five singers are amazing. I’m really excited to see it.”
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