Number 5: Newbury Spring Festival Chorus

If I'm being precise this really started last year however as it's one of my favourite things to do , I wanted to include it in my list.

Every year Newbury(randomly) host an international music festival. This always kicks off with a concert involving a renowned orchestra (Birmingham, Bournemouth etc) and a festival chorus comprised of mainly amateur local singers. An audition is required to gain entry to the chorus and last year I finally plucked up the courage to audition.

This was somewhat daunting and rather akin to a music exam however I decided to really go for it and put my inhibitions to one side ( see new movie "Sing" when I am rather like the elephant with less talent!!) . Thankfully this strategy paid off and I was accepted into the chorus for three years before needing to audition again.

Rehearsals are over only a few weeks leading up to the concert at the beginning of May and this year we are tackling Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius". I have to say this is probably the most challenging thing I have undertaken musically and my brain is being thoroughly taxed. If you ever get the opportunity to listen to this, I would strongly recommend as it is a work of epic proportions and I can't wait to get the full experience when we perform with the orchestra.