Every year since 2017, we’ve been running the annual Sir David Willcocks Carol Composer Competition to provide opportunities for composers from all over the world and to add new carols to the repertoire. Entrants compose a carol which is judged by our panel who you can meet below. The winning compositions are then performed live at our Carols at Cadogan concert, which is one of our most cherished concerts of the year and often features a full house with nearly 1,000 attendees.
We have had submissions in past years from all over the world from composers as young as 9 years old. Carols can be written in any language – we value diversity.
Singing carols has a power to inspire and connect communities, making us healthier and happier. Whether they are sung in schools, pubs or in concert halls, carols are something that everyone can enjoy.
It’s vital that we keep the carolling tradition alive for future generations, which is why we run this annual competition to find and showcase the best carol composers in the world.
The Sir David Willcocks Carol Composition Competition is particularly special to us because Sir David Willcocks was musical director of The Bach Choir for 38 years. He was a prolific arranger and composer of carols for choirs, and our President John Rutter and Musical Director David Hill are both carrying the carolling torch today. This competition is a wonderful way for us to honour Sir David’s legacy whilst also shining a crucial light on the exciting young composers of the future.
We’re very excited to announce our 2025 winners. The winners were chosen by our expert judging panel which is made up this year of David Hill MBE, Sir John Rutter, Errollyn Wallen, Joanna Marsh and Jonathan Willcocks. John Rutter is one of the world’s leading carol composers, whilst David Hill has extensive experience of conducting some of the world’s leading ensembles. Errollyn Wallen and Joanna Marsh are both Ivor Novello winners, and Jonathan Willcocks was recently awarded a British Empire Medal for his services to music.
“The Sir David Willcocks Carol Competition is so important to The Bach Choir. It gives us a valuable opportunity to continue to grow the choral repertoire, of which carols form a crucial part. This year’s competition was of an excellent standard with more carols being submitted than ever before – we are very much looking forward to sharing these fantastic new works with you at Cadogan Hall.”
David Hill MBE
We received more entries than we’ve ever had previously in this year’s competition, so thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. It was especially difficult for our judges to pick just two winners, but you can find out who they are below…
Arthur Togneri is a British composer, organist, and pianist. He studies composition at The Purcell School of Music.
Arthur’s carol, The Winds of Winter, is about longing for the warmth of summer in the cold of winter. He uses word painting in the instrumentation to accentuate the text by Emily Huntington Miller. The piece ends with an unresolved chord – the lingering harmony longs for the warmth of summer, which is just out of reach.
Ian Crawford is a composer, conductor, and music teacher based in London and the North West.
Ian’s carol, Adam lay ybounden, is a new setting of the well-known 15th-century text which relates to the events of the Book of Genesis. The piece reflects the journey of the text it’s based on, which moves from anger and incredulity at its opening through to joy and delight at its conclusion.
In addition to our winners, our judges picked out a number of other carols which made their final shortlist. Here are the carols on the shortlist in the over 18 category:
And here’s our 17 and under shortlist:
Every year we perform our winning carols at Carols at Cadogan. They are sung alongside a perfect blend of carols new and old. We encourage audience participation for some pieces, too – it’s guaranteed to get you into the Christmas spirit! Book your tickets to Carols at Cadogan here.
