For the second year running Songs of Praise and Radio 2 are joining together to celebrate the contribution made by young people to choirs and music groups across the UK and find the BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2021.
Mila is one of just 10 outstanding young singers (five girls and five boys) who have been selected by a panel of eminent choral directors from the worlds of choral and church music. The semi-finals will be filmed in October in Salisbury Cathedral, and will be broadcast on television in late November.
A former chorister at Manchester Cathedral, Mila joined Wells in Year 9 as a specialist singer on Wells’ celebrated vocal programme. She studies with Andrew Kidd, and sings in both Choralia and the Chapel Choir.
Mila says:
“I am really excited to have made it to the semi-finals of this competition! I’m really looking forward to meeting the judges, to learning from my mentor and sharing the experience with the other young choristers. I’ve been working really hard with Mr Kidd, my vocal teacher, on ‘How beautiful are the Feet’ from Messiah, and can’t wait to share my performance with the audience live in Salisbury Cathedral. Appearing in front of the Songs of Praise cameras will be nerve-wracking but an amazing experience.”
Christopher Finch, Coordinator of Vocal Studies, says:
“We are extremely proud of Mila’s fantastic achievement. It is the first time that we have entered a pupil in this competition, and so we are naturally thrilled that Mila has made it to the semi-final. She has a voice of real beauty and absolutely loves to perform. I know she’s going to have a wonderful experience, and we wish her every luck at this stage of the competition. It is fantastic that the Songs of Praise audience are going to have the opportunity to share in this celebration of young singers. I can’t wait to hear Mila’s performance!”