A MAN has earned the chance to perform with some of the most talented opera stars of tomorrow through his work with the Thurrock Community Chorus.

Daniel Pargeter, 25, has been a member of the Royal Opera House’s amateur choir for 16 months and will be one of 140 local singers to perform Verdi’s Requiem alongside the L’Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne and Orchestre de Picardie at the High House Production Park on July 3.

However, as a result of this experience, he has also earned a place singing alongside members of the Royal Opera House’s Jette Parker Young Artists programme for their annual showcase at the Covent Garden opera house on July 20.

The Young Artists are salaried company members working at the opera house full time under stage director Greg Eldridge while receiving daily coaching in all opera disciplines.

Daniel, who works for Park Inn at the Thurrock Hotel, said he considered performing with the artists at such a prestigious venue the pinnacle of his singing experience.

He said: “Greg Eldridge needed about 20 singers for a scene he’s doing and offered it out to members of the chorus, which usually on a break during the summer, and I’m one of 25 he’s ended up taking on for that performance.

“I’ll be doing rehearsals and performing on the main stage at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden with the orchestra and everything.

“A lot of my friends are envious of the work I’m doing and, with the amount of things coming up over the next few months, it feels as though I’m a professional singer.”

Daniel joined the community chorus after graduating from the University of Kent in Canterbury, where he sung in a number of groups, including a barbershop quartet.

However, the chorus also takes on people who do not feel they can sing, as they are given full training and support.

For more details visit http://www.roh.org.uk/learning/learning-in-thurrock/community-chorus