AN Almondbury man wants to harvest the nation’s love affair with singing.

With programmes like The X Factor and Gareth Malone’s Choir series proving popular with TV viewers, Richard Quarmby wants to move in.

Richard is head of music for the West Yorkshire-based choir ‘Sing Live Northern’.

He said: “I watch the participants on these live shows and feel so relieved that we don’t put our singers through that!

“ We believe there is safety in numbers and joy in group singing so we don’t audition to join Sing Live. We have spent the last 15 years watching people join us and grow in confidence simply through the support and passion which comes from singing.”

Richard is pictured here in Rome where he accompanied singers on the organ as they sang in the Vatican.

Now he is looking for singers to rehearse starting this month in Leeds, for Sing Live’s next concert at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, which takes place next February.

The concert entitled Songs From The Shows will celebrate 15 years of Sing Live and contains songs from Starlight Express, Chess, Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables among others.

Rehearsals for the concert will start this week in Horsforth.

Full details are available from www.singliveuk.com or by ringing 01609 780315.