A YOUNG musician will play a key role in TV show this evening – as part of a human keyboard.

April Moodie, 19, is appearing alongside a gospel choir on BBC TV programme, Genius.

In the show, hosted by comedian Dave Gorman, April will be hoping to light up the stage in more ways then one.

The former St Mary’s School and Colchester Institute student explained: “The idea was, when you pressed a key, we would sing a note. So instead of the keyboard making the music, we did.

“It was attached to a light bulb which would light up at the same time.

“It was quite tricky actually, because we had to remember to hold on to our own note at the same time as other people singing theirs.”

April, who plays piano, clarinet, oboe and guitar and is a budding songwriter, is studying towards a music degree at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford and was invited by the ACM gospel choir to perform with them on the show.

In Genius, members of the public have to convince a celebrity guest, this week comedian Stewart Lee, the invention they have come up with is a winning idea.

The choir members are no strangers to the small screen, having appeared in BBC1 talent show Last Choir Standing, but it was a new experience for April.

She said: “It was really cool.

“We had our own dressing room and had to have make-up put on, so it was all very exciting.”

April hails from a family of musicians headed by mum and dad, Sue and Lou, and brother Benji, a guitarist, who all live in Colchester.

Mr Moodie, who runs Music Warehouse, in St John’s Road, Colchester, and the Unitone recording studios, said: “We’re incredibly proud of her. She’s doing really well.”

Genius airs tonight at 10pm on BBC Two.