It’s Sunday, October 28th, and the day of our concert has come. More than 100 members of the London Symphony Chorus join the London Symphony Orchestra and baritone soloist Peter Coleman-Wright. We are getting ready to perform Sir William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast under the baton of Sir Colin Davis at London’s Barbican Centre.

Belshazzar’s Feast is a staple of the chorus’ repertoire. We have also performed at this venue, with the LSO and with Sir Colin many times before. Even so, the atmosphere is one of anxiety as well as excited anticipation. Our first joint rehearsal, just two days earlier, was far from concert standard. And, because the piece includes entries for the chorus which – even with experience – remain challenging, we anxiously wonder if Sir Colin will clearly signal these moments. It doesn’t help that, during the first half of the concert, chorus members have been blown away by Mitsuko Uchida’s dazzling performance of Beethoven’s fourth Piano Concerto. How can we possibly live up to such a high standard?

As members of the orchestra tune their instruments, I take in my surroundings. The deep chestnut of violins, violas, cellos and double basses show warm and vibrant against the dark black of our concert dress. The latter transforms both chorus and orchestra – the men are suddenly more handsome and slim, the women more elegant. The colourful dress and jovial informality of rehearsal have given way to a disciplined and adrenaline-charged readiness to perform.

The audience applauds as the orchestra’s leader steps onto the concert platform. This is the sign that our performance is about to begin. She is quickly followed by Sir Colin, who takes in the orchestra and chorus with a sweep of the eyes before raising his baton. Audience members stop talking and a hush descends.

A brief statement by the trombones precedes the chorus’ first entry. This is a dramatic and unaccompanied declaration by the tenors and basses, who sing of the prediction by Isaiah: that the sons of Israel will be taken away from their homeland to become eunuchs in the palace of the kings of Babylon. It is a bold entry which sets up the story as well as introducing the chorus.

The men make their entry with both drama and precision. As I hear their confident beginning I notice a release of tension. My inner anxieties give way to a deep engagement with the music. I am ready to sing.