Conductor Neil Taylor, Musical Director of Poynton’s St George’s Singers, has lots to sing about at the moment. His 16 year old daughter, Ella, was named BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of The Year in the Grand Final of the competition which took place on Friday 29 October at St Paul's Cathedral in London. The show was hosted by Aled Jones, presenter of Radio 2's Good Morning Sunday, and was broadcast on Sunday 7 November at 8.30-10pm on Radio 2.
Neil, who at the time was busy rehearsing St George’s Singers for their next concert, took time off from rehearsals so that he could be in the audience at St Paul’s to hear Ella and seven other young choristers in the special Silver Jubilee anniversary year of the competition.
In addition to directing St George’s Singers, Neil is Director of Music at Sheffield Cathedral, where Ella began singing with the Cathedral Choir at the age of ten. She has enjoyed tours with the Cathedral Choir to Germany, France and Hungary and has also broadcast regularly with them on BBC Radio 3. She has previously won the Intermediate Recital prize and the Sacred Song Prize from the David Clover Competition for young singers.
Ella left the Cathedral choir in July 2010 to take up a music scholarship at Lancing College in Sussex, where she is currently studying for her A levels whilst pursuing her choral studies. Following a recent Eton Choral Course she has been invited to join the prestigious Rodolfus Choir. Ella’s interests extend beyond classical music and she has sung in the backing group for a Sheffield band Screaming Maldini during the last year. She enjoys badminton, swimming and watching films to relax.
Ella’s father Neil Taylor, who coached Ella himself in the Cathedral Choir, said, “We are delighted about this fantastic news. All of us at the Cathedral and at St George’s are over the moon about the result.”
Ella admitted to Aled Jones in her interview with him on the radio that she might pursue a career as an opera singer. In this she may well follow in the steps of another of Neil’s pupils, Elizabeth Watts, who won the Song Prize at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2007, and who trained with Neil at Norwich Cathedral as a youngster.
St
George’s Singers
’
next concert
with
Neil in charge is
their traditional Carols and Brass by Candlelight concert with VBS
Poynton Brass Band on 4
th
December in St George’s Church, Stockport.
Ella and Neil at St Paul's Cathedral
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