AN ALREADY-outstanding year for Farnham Youth Choir (FYC) was topped off when they represented Farnham and the United Kingdom at the European Choir Games and Grand Prix of Nations in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Having also appeared on the X Factor Live Final on ITV1 last December, FYC continued its high-profile season with gold medals in both categories it entered, with storming performances in the Youth Choir category before going on to excel against adult choirs in the Sacred Music category.

With a repertoire that included choral works by Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert and Maurice Durúfle – as well as contemporary composers Janet Wheeler and Oliver Tarney – FYC stunned judges as the 40-strong choir took centre stage at the event.

With members ranging between 12 and 18 years old, the choir was accompanied by Matthew Rickard and a dedicated team of supporters and staff, while hundreds of followers cheered them on in real time via social media.

Bear Crawford, a long-standing member of the choir, said: “I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved, and we’ve all worked so hard to have this amazing experience in Gothenburg.”

Jess Miller added: “I’m so proud to be able to call myself a senior leader of such an incredible choir! We have worked so hard this year and everyone has pulled together amazingly to achieve the best results we could have hoped for. We never expected to win anything in such challenging categories, but our hard work is clearly reflected in our shiny gold medals!”

Artistic director Joanna Tomlinson said: “This has been an incredible experience for the choir and its supporters and shows the exceptional talent and professionalism our young singers put into every performance.

“We have a long tradition of competing strongly in competitions, but this was an exceptional achievement, especially when competing against adult choirs from across the world.”

In addition to their gold medal- winning performances, members also connected with choirs from Denmark, Italy and the USA as part of the Grand Prix of Nations – giving impromptu performances and a ‘friendship concert’ in Vasakyrkan as part of the event.

With training, junior and youth choirs made up of more than 150 young singers, FYC is ranked in–the top 50 Youth Choirs in the world by Interkultur and later this week will perform John Rutter’s Mass of the Children at the Sion Music Festival in Switzerland.

The choir also plans to compete in the World Choir Games in Belgium in 2020.

To find out more about joining one of FYC’s choirs in September, go to fyc.org.uk