On Wednesday, March 20, to celebrate the release of tickets for the Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition in Durham City, a choir set up in honour of the priceless manuscript will give its first outdoor performance. Lizzie Anderson joins the singers for the final preparations

EXCITEMENT was in the air at the most recent rehearsal of the Lindisfarne Gospels Community Choir on Saturday (March 16).

Or should that be excitement tinged with nervous apprehension? For, in a matter of days, we would be singing in front of the public on Palace Green, near Durham Cathedral.

It was a daunting prospect but one the majority of us could not wait to embrace.

Our performances, at 11.50am and 12.40pm, will form part of a series of events taking place to celebrate St Cuthbert’s Day and the release of tickets for the eagerly anticipated Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition, which opens at Durham University’s Palace Green Library on July 1.

Widely regarded as one of the best examples of creativity and craftsmanship from Medieval times, the manuscript was created in Lindisdarne, Northumberland, during the eight century and tell the story of St Cuthbert.

The Lindisfarne Gospels return to the North-East is the source of great excitement in the region and, last summer a campaign was launched to recruit 1,000 singers for a huge outdoor concert to mark its arrival on June 30.

Many existing choirs and hundreds of individuals of all ages and ability have signed up and a large group has been attending monthly rehearsals led by Mish Kelly, director of musical outreach at Durham Cathedral.

New members arrive each session and this rehearsal proved no different with several new recruits joining us at St Leonard’s Catholic School.

Without wanting to give too much away, the choir plans to perform four pieces on Wednesday, all of which will feature beautiful harmonies to showcase the talents of bass’ tenors, altos and sopranos.

To ensure we all felt confident with our parts, Ms Kelly divided the first half of the rehearsal into sections to allow her to “note bash” with each group in turn.

As always, her teaching method was friendly and encouraging and, by the time the session was over, our nerves over Wednesday’s performance had disappeared.

Anyone who would like to join the Lindisfarne Gospels Community Choir is welcome to attend the next rehearsal at 2pm on Saturday, March 23, at the Assembly Rooms, North Bailey, Durham City.

To find out more contact 03000-261948.

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