Lord Mayor’s Charity Gala Concert, March 25

The 7pm concert will open the year-long celebrations of the 800th anniversary of the city of York’s mayoralty and will feature performances by York Stage Musicals, Attitude Dance, New York Brass Band, the Shipley Family and York Light Opera Company too.

“I’m thrilled to be headlining this event,” says Rebecca. “It will be my first time performing at this wonderful theatre and I’m really looking forward to it.

“The concert is selling well and promises to raise a lot of money for York Against Cancer and York Mind, the Lord Mayor’s designated charities for this year.

“I’ll be singing some of my most popular songs, including Time To Say Goodbye and Love Never Dies, and a duet of All I Ask Of You with tenor Chris Jay, and I feel very honoured to be asked to top the bill and can’t wait to get on stage.

“The rest of the talent performing on the night promises to be exceptional and it will be a great night for all the family.”

Looking ahead, Rebecca will return to the Joseph Rowntree Theatre by popular demand on June 2, coinciding with The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend.

“I performed there for the first time last July and I’ve been inundated with emails and letters from people who came that night, asking when the next concert will be,” she says.

“I decided on the jubilee weekend so that people from outside the area could make an excuse to have a mini-break in York over the extended bank holiday.

“Again I’ll be performing some of the usual popular classics I sing, but I also have some new songs I’ve been working hard on with my vocal coach, which I hope to debut on the night.

“I’ve been seeing a new vocal coach, Anne-Marie Czajkowski, and working hard to push my voice to the next level, so I’m very excited to showcase some new material and show how my voice is developing.”

Rebecca’s guest line-up is yet to be confirmed “but will be a similar mix to last year, hopefully with some dancers too”.

Further afield, Rebecca will be the guest soloist for the Consett Citizens Choir at the Empire Theatre, Consett, County Durham, on June 8.

“That will be a fantastic challenge,” she says. “This year is looking very exciting so far, with work beginning for my next classical CD some time in the autumn.

“I’ve now raised more than £7,000 for Childline and my CD sales have exceeded 10,000. It’s amazing to see how things have progressed over the past few years since I became a full-time professional singer.

“I even have opportunities coming through from abroad, which I’ll hopefully have more news on later in the year.”

• Tickets cost £5 to £10 for March 25 and £14, concessions £12, for June 2, available on 01904 623568 or online at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk