Choir will 'always remember' Vatican performance

A university choir celebrating a successful performance at the Vatican hopes more tours will follow.

Castle Chapel Choir at Durham University returned from Rome on Tuesday after singing in St Peter's Basilica.

Tom Parker, a PhD student and the choir's director of music, said it was an "incredibly special" experience.

The invitation to sing at the Vatican came after members of the choir contacted officials asking if they could perform there.

Mr Parker, who is stepping down from the choir, said: "I feel like we've achieved something tremendous and we'll always have that to remember."

He added the vice-director of the Choir of St. Peter's Basilica, Fabio Avolio, had given him a "very, very warm handshake" after the concert and praised the performance.

The 17-strong choir also sang at several other churches in Rome, and performed at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral in London earlier in the summer.

Third-year student Kate Ryan, who will be managing the choir in the new academic year, said walking into St Peter's Basilica had been "surreal".

"To walk in and think 'hang on, we're performing here', was a crazy feeling," she said.

The biology student added another European tour would be "a dream" but she was not sure "anything could top the Vatican".

"I think that will be a highlight for many years to come," she said.

"It will definitely be a memory of a lifetime."

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