A MILITARY charity choir based in Haslingden received tips from the very best when international opera star Sean Ruane gave them a boost before a major performance.

Sean, who hails from Bacup, told the Veterans In Communities Choir how he had been following their progress on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The group meets on Thursday evenings at the VIC Centre in Bury Road under the musical direction of veteran Peter Webster.

They sang The Homeground Anthem, which was recorded as a charity single by Russell Watson but has been released for the group to sing by the song’s writer Owen Shead, and You Raise Me Up by Westlife.

Sean then selected sections of the performance and gave the group pointers on how to improve ahead of their first major appearance at the Festival of Remembrance Concert at The Riverside, Whitworth that was held on Sunday.

He said: “They loved being together and enjoying music and they have a good leader in Peter.

“It is about picking music that the group can perform to give the members a boost and it was obvious that they were enjoying singing together. I did pick up on a couple of things, particularly the northern pronunciation, and I hope that may help them.”

Sean is leading a project to get a community choir ready for a number of Christmas engagements in Bacup and at The Whitaker, Rossendale’s museum and art gallery, on December 21.

Rehearsals will take place on Sunday, November 30, at St Anne’s, Edgeside, from 2pm until 4pm.

Director Peter, a former military musician, is a singing teacher and a member of the Fitton Factor Community Choir, who joined the group at the remembrance concert.

He said: “It was fantastic of Sean to come along and we are really glad that he said he would also be coming back in December.

“The singing group learned a lot from his visit and it went really well.

“It was just the boost we needed before the performance.”

The singing group is open to veterans and members of the community.

Anyone interested in taking part should call 01706 833 180, visit the group on a Thursday night at 6.30pm.