Duncan Carter, a boy soprano from a Catholic school in the north west, has gone up a range, winning the Bishop’s Award from the Royal School of Church Music.
Last year Duncan, 12, a chorister at St Ambrose College in Cheshire, won the Dean’s Award but this year he has performed with even greater distinction to be singled out by some of the country’s top choral experts as one of the nation’s finest young voices.
Duncan, from Raven Road, Timperley, practises twice a week and sings regularly both for his school’s newly reassembled choir and in St George’s church in Altrincham.
Duncan said: “I love singing and at this time of year I particularly enjoy singing carols: my favourite is ‘Oh Come, All Ye Faithful’. However, I am not sure if I would like to do it professionally because I really want to be a doctor, but I do know that I would like to sing in some capacity for the rest of my life. It’s such a joyful thing to do.”
Duncan could be heard with the rest of the St Ambrose College Choir, which now has some 150 members, at the school carol concert on December 14 in Holy Angels church and before the Sale Sharks Amlin Challenge Cup game against Brive on December 19, when with his school choir he accompanied former Ambrose teacher turned operatic star Martin Toal.
Christine Mortimer, head of music at St Ambrose, said: “Duncan has a truly enchanting voice which mesmerises listeners. Time moves on and we now hope he makes a smooth transition into the contralto range.”
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