In 1983 something quite miraculous happened to 15 year old me....yes, Stuart Mitchell asked me out!

No...not that...something else! I know! I successfully auditioned for the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. 35 years ago a choir was formed that was to change my life (and the lives of many hundreds of young singers) forever. Being part of NYCGB was quite simply the best musical experience I could ever have hoped for and I made many, many lifelong friends as a result.

Last year, I decided to give something back to say "thank you" by becoming a member of the Alumni Champions Fund Committee and I now spend quite a lot of my spare time coming up with (mostly daft!) ways to raise money for the choir.

On January 13th 2019 I will be going way out of my comfort zone and joining ex-alumna Catherine Harris Byram-Wigfield on the 20km London Winter Walk. This is the first time I've done any sort of sponsored activity involving exercise. I am 50 years old and suffer from sero-negative rheumatoid arthritis in most of my joints which can be pretty crippling when it decides to rear its ugly head and I know that 20km in the cold will be a huge challenge for me but I am really determined to do this!

So....dear friends....please dig deep for me (or just some spare change if you can manage that) and let's try and raise some dosh for all those kids out there who have musical potential and talent but lack the funds to pay for course fees etc.

*Each year, NYCGB directly assists one in five aspiring young singers with the cost of auditions, course fees and travel costs. Without this help they wouldn’t be able to participate in NYCGB’s life changing activities

The Alumni Champions' Fund is a new annual fund that has been established by NYCGB alumni to raise money in aid of current NYCGB members who require financial assistance to participate in NYCGB’s courses and concerts. This is a fund that has been set up and will be managed by NYCGB alumni.*

Lizzie Spear née Rowe