BBC Choirboy of the Year 1999

David Wigram is Head Chorister at St. Peter's Church, St. Albans, and BBC Radio 2 Choirboy of the Year 1999. He was chosen, together with Sumudu Jayatilaka, to sing the solo in the World Premiere of Sir John Tavener's "A New Beginning" at the Millennium Dome on December 31st 1999, just before midnight.

He has been a member of St. Peter's choir since the age of six and frequently performs as treble soloist in sacred works including Allegri's "Miserere" and Mendelssohn's "Hear my Prayer", from which he has recorded the solo "O for the Wings of a Dove".

David's singing repertoire extends into theatre and concerts. His interest in more dramatic roles began at school when, at the age of nine, he took the role of Pharaoh in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". Subsequently, he performed as singer and dancer with the Fonteyn Theatre Group and won critical acclaim in 1997 for his portrayal of the title role in Menotti's opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" with St. Albans Chamber Opera.

He made his professional debut with Almeida Opera in the principal role as Boy in the World Premiere of Roderick Watkins' opera "The Juniper Tree" at the Munich Biennale Festival, subsequently performing it in London.

He has sung principal roles with English National Opera as the Shepherd Boy in "Tosca", First Spirit in "The Magic Flute", and Fyodor in "Boris Godunov", with Teatro Lirico in Sardinia as Miles in Britten's "The Turn of the Screw", and currently as Yniold in Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande" with the ENO.

Concert appearances include two charity concerts at the Royal Naval College Chapel in Greenwich, Soprano Knabe in Mahler's "Das Klagende Lied" in the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and concerts with the BBC Concert Orchestra in the Royal Festival Hall, London, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and the Fairfield Hall, Croydon.

David, who is thirteen years old, studies singing with Phyl Swindlehurst, and has been awarded many prizes at local music festivals including three awards as most promising young singer. He is a pupil at Beaumont School and a member of the Hertfordshire Schools Symphony Orchestra. With St Peter's choir, he has toured in Great Britain and France and played in goal for their medal-winning football team. When not singing, David enjoys studying piano, saxophone, viola and drums, playing jazz and chamber music, and also playing tennis, basketball and football.

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