Taking part in BBC Scotland Sings was 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' for Caithness dad
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A CAITHNESS dad, who took part in the BBC Scotland Sings series, described the experience as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Ali Glen, who lives in Thurso with his two young sons, was part of a unique choir whose members came from all over Scotland and from "all walks of life" to participate in the project which was led by vocal coach to the stars, Yvie Burnett. Her challenge was to form and coach a choir with people who have kept their talents hidden.
Ali got involved after some friends told him the BBC was looking for people to form a choir. As he enjoys singing and has been involved in Thurso Players for many years, he decided to apply and sent off a couple of videos of him performing some songs.
Shortly afterwards, he received a message from the producers of the show asking him to be part of the choir and had to travel to Glasgow for rehearsals.
Then in December last year, the choir had to sing in front of 2000 people at the Hoolie in the Hydro event in the city.
"That was scary to put it lightly," said Ali, who is a single parent. "I have been involved in the Thurso Players as long as I can remember and did not get a lot of nerves when performing but being at the Hydro was totally different and really nerve-racking for the first 30 seconds on stage but was one of the most exciting things I have done.
"It was stressful being away from the kids bit it was really something I wanted to do, gave me a new passion for music and was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he added.
The two programmes focus on the rehearsals and the lead-up to the performance at the Hyrdo. Ali said he did not want to give too much away but said there is "a bit of a twist " in the second episode – screened tonight – but being repeated on BBC One Scotland on Sunday at 4.15pm. The first one aired last week. The programmes will also be available on the BBC IPlayer.
He enjoyed taking part and working with Yvie Burnett who has has coached a range of stars, including Katy Perry, Lewis Capaldi and Leona Lewis. Yvie has also appeared on The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.
Regards the choir, Ali said: "They were a great group of people from all over Scotland and all walks of life. We have stayed in contact and I have probably made some life-long friends. The experience brought everybody out of their shells."
The 31-year-old, who works for BT in Thurso, is keen to join a choir now and has been along to a rehearsal with the Tutti Choir – named after an Italian musical term for playing all together –which was set up by music teacher, Kara Gray, after seeing people struggle with their mental health during the Covid lockdown.
"I would like to get more involved," he added.
