Egglescliffe School Senior Choir sing backstage at the Schools Prom

The choir, which has incorporated male voices for the first time this year, relish the challenge of singing a range of musical styles from memory. 

"This is the end of our first year of having tenors and basses," Claire tells Classic FM's Tim Lihoreau. "We were a girls choir before and there are some members who were in the girls choir before. It's totally changed the dynamic, having boys in the group."

They hope to infuse their performances with the jovial and effervescent nature of their rehearsals. The three pieces range in mood from the intense Crucifixus - exposing each of the voice parts in a spellbinding opening - to dramatic scope in dynamics, character and dissonant harmony found in William Walton's A Litany. Words, an a capella piece with catchy melodic lines and funky harmony, finishes their programme.