SINGER Simon Carrington, a founder of the Kings Singers who formerly lived in the Pewsey Vale, returned to the county at the weekend as director of one of the USA's top college choirs.

Mr Carrington formerly lived at Rushall. In 25 years with the Kings Singers gave over 3,000 concerts.

He was Cambridge contemporary of Dr Nick Maurice, chairman of the UK One World Linking Association, which is based in Marlborough.

UKOWLA invited the Yale Schola Cantorum to perform in St Peter's Church on Sunday as part of a mini-tour which opened the previous night at Edington Priory in West Wiltshire.

The tour continued this week with concerts at Winchester Cathedral on Monday; Magdalen College at Oxford on Tuesday; St George's Chapel in Windsor last night and at Fairford Church in Gloucestershire tonight.

Choristers were put up during their stay by families in and around Marlborough.

Mr Carrington emigrated to the USA after retiring from the Kings Singers and directed choral activities at the University of Kansas for seven years. From 2001 to 3 he was director of choral activities at the New England Conservatory in Boston.

In 1997 he brought the Kansas University Choir on tour to the UK with a memorable visit to Marlborough.

Two years ago he was appointed professor of choral conducting at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale and founded its Schola Cantorum.

Taking a few minutes out of his current whistle stop tour, Mr Carrington said he and his wife still had many friends in Wiltshire and in Rushall where the family formerly lived.

He said: "We have fond memories of living here and giving concerts at Marlborough College."