BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2022 Naomi Simon has returned to her hometown to entertain residents at a York care home with her repertoire of Christmas classics.
The 17-year-old, who landed the prize in December last year, put on a special performance for the residents of Chocolate Works, an 82-bed care home in Bishopthorpe Road.
Naomi was introduced to the home by Thea Jacob, a York-based musician who regularly visits there, and who is the founder of Song Box music classes.
Song Box is a community music provider, created in 1994 during a career-break activity while Thea’s sons were small.
Naomi was just six months old when her mother took her to her first Song Box class where she was first introduced to music.
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Naomi said: “I find singing for the elderly really rewarding.
“We live in such a youth-centric society, so I really enjoyed spending time with the residents and bringing back happy memories for them through the power of music.
“Performing for older people and seeing how much joy it brings to them creates a warm and fuzzy feeling which I’d love to bottle up, and perhaps explore a future in musical therapy.”
Dave Fieldhouse, home manager at Chocolate Works said: “Naomi is such a talented young woman and the residents really enjoyed hearing her sing.
“It was lovely to welcome Naomi’s boyfriend, Oliver who accompanied her on the piano.
“It was a really wonderful morning which evoked very happy memories for our residents.”
Thea Jacob said at her next visit two days later that residents were still talking about Naomi’s performance.
Since scooping the title of BBC Young Chorister of the Year, Naomi has performed with the BBC Philharmonic and has appeared on a range of national radio and television programmes showcasing her talent.
Naomi has also been asked to sing the National Anthem at Wembley Stadium in February 2024 at the Carabao Cup Final.
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