BBC Young Chorister of the Year sings with Bedford School Chapel Choir in a special recording

Bedford School pupil Alexander Olleson - who won the BBC Young Chorister of the Year competition - has recorded an exclusive socially-distanced solo with the Bedford School Chapel Choir.

The 14-year-old, who joined Bedford School in September on a music scholarship, sings the solo first verse in Harold Darke’s setting of In the Bleak Midwinter.

The carol also features a solo from upper sixth former Hugh Halsey, and the Chapel Choir is accompanied on the organ by Lower Sixth Former James Watson in a carefully edited recording to ensure choristers kept socially-distanced throughout.

Alexander said that although he loves singing solos, it is the team spirit and camaraderie of singing together in the choir that he really enjoys.

“Singing as a soloist is something I have done for years as a chorister but when you are in a choir you feel as if you are singing as one body,” he said.