Comedian and actor Alexander Armstrong is best-known now for being the co-presenter of hit BBC One gameshow Pointless everyday except Sunday. But he's also a very good singer.
"Xander", as he is nicknamed, is a former choir boy at Durham Cathedral and has released his debut classical album, A Year Of Songs. It is a collection of pieces that are special to Alexander, including Rothbury Hills – a song from the area in which he grew up – and Londonderry Air.
Alexander Armstrong as you've never heard him before
By Elizabeth Davis
23rd September 2015
Classic FM
Our very own presenter and much-loved TV host releases his first classical album. Classic FM Album of the Week, every morning after 10am from Monday 2 November 2015.
Alexander was a choir boy at Durham Cathedral and choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge – where he recorded several CDs with the choir. He was considering going on to study at the Royal College of Music, but then he met Ben Miller and turned to a career in comedy instead. As half of the Bafta winning duo Armstrong & Miller, Alexander became a household name and is now on television screens as the host of the quiz show Pointless .
“I have never actually abandoned singing,” explains Alexander, “I have sung at lots of friends’ weddings and family events to keep up my classical repertoire, and I get together with a music teacher every few months.” And every Christmas, Alexander sings a carol concert with his friends Tim Rice and Kit Hesketh-Harvey.
Hear Alexander sing the traditional O Waly Waly:
The album, A Year of Songs, on East West Records, is a collection of pieces that are special to Alexander, including Rothbury Hills – a song from the area in which he grew up – and Londonderry Air :
“The sheet music was discovered in a church in Limavady in County Derry, where my mother’s family come from,” explained Alexander, “so we’ve always felt it was somehow ‘ours’”.
Other highlights of the recording include Gershwin’s Summertime, Hushabye Mountain and Stranger in Paradise.
Alexander is going to tour the UK, starting with a performance in Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall on 17 January 2016 and going on to venues including Sheffield, Bristol, London, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
As we usually see him: Alexander Armstrong with his Pointless co-host and friend Richard Osman
Read more at Alexander Armstrong as you've never heard him before | Radio Shows - Classic FM
"Xander", as he is nicknamed, is a former choir boy at Durham Cathedral and has released his debut classical album, A Year Of Songs. It is a collection of pieces that are special to Alexander, including Rothbury Hills – a song from the area in which he grew up – and Londonderry Air.
Alexander Armstrong as you've never heard him before
By Elizabeth Davis
23rd September 2015
Classic FM
Our very own presenter and much-loved TV host releases his first classical album. Classic FM Album of the Week, every morning after 10am from Monday 2 November 2015.
Alexander was a choir boy at Durham Cathedral and choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge – where he recorded several CDs with the choir. He was considering going on to study at the Royal College of Music, but then he met Ben Miller and turned to a career in comedy instead. As half of the Bafta winning duo Armstrong & Miller, Alexander became a household name and is now on television screens as the host of the quiz show Pointless .
“I have never actually abandoned singing,” explains Alexander, “I have sung at lots of friends’ weddings and family events to keep up my classical repertoire, and I get together with a music teacher every few months.” And every Christmas, Alexander sings a carol concert with his friends Tim Rice and Kit Hesketh-Harvey.
Hear Alexander sing the traditional O Waly Waly:
“The sheet music was discovered in a church in Limavady in County Derry, where my mother’s family come from,” explained Alexander, “so we’ve always felt it was somehow ‘ours’”.
Other highlights of the recording include Gershwin’s Summertime, Hushabye Mountain and Stranger in Paradise.
Alexander is going to tour the UK, starting with a performance in Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall on 17 January 2016 and going on to venues including Sheffield, Bristol, London, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
As we usually see him: Alexander Armstrong with his Pointless co-host and friend Richard Osman
Read more at Alexander Armstrong as you've never heard him before | Radio Shows - Classic FM