NEXT July, a 1,000 strong community choir will perform at a special concert in Durham City to mark the return of the Lindisfarne Gospels to their spiritual home. Lizzie Anderson joined the recruits for the second all-important rehearsal.

Last month, in the days running up to the first rehearsal of the Lindisfarne Gospels Community Choir, I was a bag of nerves.

Thankfully, when I walked to Durham Cathedral’s Chorister School on Saturday afternoon (October 27), my mood could not have been more different.

The first session had turned out to be an entirely positive and moving experience and I could not wait to re-join my fellow sopranos and recapture the excitement of singing in harmony.

For anyone who is still unaware of the project, earlier this year a campaign was launched to create a 1,000-voice choir to perform at a unique concert celebrating the return of the Lindisfarne Gospels to Durham Cathedral.

The concert, at Palace Green, will coincide with the opening of the Gospels Exhibition next July.

Already, the search for singers is proving a success, with hundreds of choirs and individuals of all ages and abilities signing up. There were certainly a lot of new faces at the rehearsal on Saturday.

Just like last time, the enthusiasm of our choir leader, Mish Kelly, director of musical outreach at Durham Cathedral, was infectious and her patient teaching style made us all feel at ease.

During the session, we revisited material from last month and also learnt new songs, including the Lord is My Shepherd – made famous by the BBC’s Vicar of Dibley. We also sang carols in preparation for a Christmas concert at Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham, on December 16.

It was an enjoyable afternoon and, as I discovered during our tea break, I was not the only one to have caught the singing bug. Choir members Angela Williamson from Chester-le-Street, Pam Naylor from Hunwick, near Crook, and Christabel Liddle and Susan Tyson from Durham, were all buzzing with excitement.

“It was overwhelming at first but now I am really enjoying it,” said Ms Williamson, who has never sung in public before. “It was not so much the singing that made we want to take part but the idea of getting involved with something so important for our area.”

The next rehearsal will take place at the Chapter House in Durham Cathedral, from 2pm to 5pm, on Saturday, November 24.

For choir information, call 0300-026-1948 or visit lindisfarnegospels.com