The David Clover Competition for Singers was started in 1979 by the City of Sheffield Teachers' Choir as a memorial to its founder and conductor, and the then city's music adviser, Dr. David Clover.

The competition is open to all singers from the age of nine, and its chief objective is to foster this branch of music making which was ever one of Dr. Clover's greatest loves. He strongly maintained, as others have done, that everyone has a musical instrument which can be developed - the voice - and much of his work was devoted to fostering the use of young voices whether as soloists or choralists.

He believed that the voice deserved equal status with other musical instruments, and so the Teachers' Choir decided to provide an opportunity, initially for young singers, to perform songs of their own choice with a view to being helped and encouraged by experienced judges of singing.