A KINCARDINE resident has lived a dream come true as she became part of a group of hidden singers to perform at the Hydro.

Rhiannon Lister joined the cast of Scotland Sings, a BBC production that aims to take amazing singers who haven’t shown what they can do.

The 22-year-old has autism, hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) and hypermobility Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), which can greatly restrict her movement.

However, she managed to overcome all of it to join the choir put together by Yvie Burnett and performed at the Hydro with the rest of the chosen few.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Rhiannon explained she was extremely hesitant to apply but is thankful she put her fears to one side to appear.

She said: “I wasn’t sure if I should send in a video for an audition because at that point, I was bed-bound the majority of the time due to severe chronic pain, dislocations, fatigue and illness caused by HSD/hEDS.

“I eventually sent in my audition on the very last day and didn’t think anything of it until I got a call that I got in. I was so nervous I refused to show my face in the videos I sent.”

 

SUPERSTAR: Rhiannon Lister fulfilled her dream of singing to thousands on Scotland Sings.

SUPERSTAR: Rhiannon Lister fulfilled her dream of singing to thousands on Scotland Sings.

 

Scotland Sings aimed to find people who didn’t have the confidence or had a disability preventing them from doing what they loved.

Rhiannon was selected from thousands of applicants and joined a group of 20 in the choir to be coached by Yvie Burnett and Mylene Klass.

She travelled with the group to Glasgow to begin the preparation for the show, with the choir focusing on songs performed by Scottish artists including Lewis Capaldi.

At the end of the training, the group performed their show at the Hydro which was recorded and aired on BBC Scotland at the end of April.

“It was such an enjoyable and emotional experience,” Rhiannon added. “Everyone was there to make sure everyone was okay, supported and having as much fun as possible singing our hearts out.

“The amount of work Yvie, John Logan and the crew put in to us definitely showed once we performed in front of thousands at the Hydro.

“I definitely have gained confidence to begin to think to the future now. I am still limited by my physical health but I’m hoping to get back into singing again in a choir soon.”

Scotland Sings is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.