Critical care outreach nurses Pip Hale and Jools Fell will soon be on the same team away from their day jobs at UHSussex – they’ve joined the Grammy nominated Brighton Festival Chorus Choir.
Pip, who works as a Clinical Nurse Practitioner cross site, and Jools, who is based at Worthing, recently auditioned for spots in the 150-strong choir and have now found out they were successful and will start with their fellow choristers in January.
Brighton Festival Chorus (BCF) is one of the country’s leading symphony choruses and has performed with all the major British orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
BFC has also made 10 appearances at the BBC Proms and been nominated for 2 Grammy awards.
Pip said: “Jools knew I liked to sing and she came up to me one day and said ‘how would you like to sing in a choir?’ I thought I’d give it a go. Singing is such a release away from the stresses of our jobs and is a great way to relax and have fun away from work.
“I’d previously sung some pop and soul and was signed to a recording studio but I haven’t sung this type of music for a long time. I am really looking forward to having some fun and really looking forward to singing at the Albert Hall!”
Jools added: “I used to be in choirs and I thought it would fun to give it a go. We went to the audition and we each had to have a musical exam to test our voices. I did the Winner Takes it all and Pip did Amazing Grace. 3 days after the audition we found out we were in.
“Singing is a great outlet for us away from really stressful jobs in the critical outreach team. We have to attend practice every week and be ready for 10 concerts a year. It feels good to be representing the Trust in this way.”