THE youngest member of Greenock Philharmonic Choir has secured a place at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Caitlin McKenzie, 18, moved to the area to live with her gran and continue her studies at the Junior Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

She joined the local choir and hasn't looked back, crediting the help she has received there with helping her win the coveted place.

Caitlin said: “I’ve been singing for many years now, mostly with the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS) choirs.

“My gran brought home a leaflet from church about the choir and I thought I would go along and try it out."

Caitlin said the welcome she was given helped her performance and pushed her to pursue her dream of a career in music.

She said: “The choir helped me in many ways, with confidence and performance, as well as my musical skills.

"It’s also given me the opportunity to learn pieces that I might not have otherwise.

“Our conductor Andrew McTaggart is fantastic. He chooses great repertoire for us to perform and brings lots of laughter to our rehearsals. He’s so talented and brings his knowledge into our rehearsals. We’re extremely lucky to have him.”

Both Caitlin’s family and the choir were delighted when she was recently accepted into the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Choir member Anne Armour said: “We are all over the moon for Caitlin. She thoroughly deserves it as she is so talented."

Before starting at the RCS, Caitlin will perform with the choir in their Feel the Spirit concert on Saturday.

She said: “I am feeling really good.

“We have a great repertoire that is definitely worth coming along to listen to. The choir has been working really hard and it’s great when there’s a big audience to sing to so we would love for as many people to come along as possible.

“I’ll be coming back at Christmas to sing with the choir and hopefully I’ll be able to join them in many more shows after that too.

“We have a great time making music together and always welcome new members.”

The concert on Saturday will begin at 7.30pm in Lyle Kirk, Newark Street.

Tickets are priced at £10 and are available on the door.