Radio 3 Carol Competition

Back in September, Radio 3 challenged listeners to come up with a cracking new tune for the words of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, Christmas Carol. Judges were almost overwhelmed by the response! Hundreds of aspiring composers sent us their melodies, written in every conceivable style and genre.

The competition was judged blind by an expert panel of judges, who whittled well over a thousand entries down to a shortlist of just six. The six finalists have since been working with an arranger, Clare Wheeler, to come up with festive harmonies and an accompaniment for their melodies.

We are very proud to announce that Corpus Christi’s very own Mr Walton, teacher of RE, is one of the six finalists!

We would like to encourage you to listen to all Radio 3 Carol Competition 2020 Finalists, but in particular track No. 4. Mr Walton, and vote for your favourite that you think has the most catchy, singable melody – the earworm that will keep you humming all the way through the festive period. Good luck Mr Walton!

The vote closes on Thursday 17 December at 6pm. The winner will be announced during Radio 3’s Breakfast show on Friday 18 December.

The Radio 3 Carol Competition was open to non-professional composers in the UK. Anyone could enter, no matter what their level of experience. You didn’t need to have had any special musical training or need to know how to read or write music.