One of the leading lights of the Sheffield classical music scene, Alan came to live in Sheffield over 30 years ago and was head of music at King Edward's School. He is now a freelance musician and teacher.
His next concert with the Chorus is Michael Tippet's A Child of Our Time at the Sheffield Cathedral tomorrow, Saturday.

Cathedral

I spend a lot of time at the cathedral as this is where the Chorus gives most of its performances. The choir started out there after the war back in 1948 and it has kept its association with the cathedral ever since.
Over the years we have performed hundreds of really great works there. It has a good acoustic for a cathedral (they can often be very tricky) and it works very well for our kind of music.

Mangla restaurant

There is nothing quite like a really good curry. My favourite curry house at the moment is the Mangla on Spital Hill. The food is authentic, the prices are reasonable and you can watch the staff cooking the food, which is always fun.
I also like the Ashoka on Ecclesall Road, one of Sheffield's oldest Indian restaurants and still going strong and I especially enjoy eating at The Blue Moon Café. It's right next to the cathedral, which is very convenient for me, and it does really excellent vegetarian food.

Favourite pubs

A regular haunt is the Wellington on Henry Street down by Shalesmoor. It used to be called the Cask and Cutler. It's very friendly and they have an excellent range of real ales from the little-known smaller breweries.
For a cosy drink on winter's day I like the Rising Sun on Abbey Lane – another Sheffield pub with good guest beers.

Sheffield Music Shop

This is a real Sheffield institution and highly valued by the music community. It used to be up on Whitham Road near the University of Sheffield.
It is a family firm run by the Basfords and everyone who works there is a musician. So when you go in and ask for sheet music or whatever, they know what you are talking about. They also repair instruments.
The new shop on Ecclesall Road is very bright and modern and I hanker a bit after the 'oldy worldy' feel of Whitham Road but it is still a pleasure to go there and know you can get hold of what you want.

Botanical Gardens

I think the Botanical Gardens must feature more often in this column than anywhere else in Sheffield – it is a gem.
I remember it from the days when they still had the parrot house and one particular parrot who sat on a perch outside. He didn't like men much and could be bad tempered but never with women.
The parrot house and the aquarium are gone now but the restored glasshouses are a great success, along with the café. And it's good to see the gardens restored to their original plan.

Derbyshire

It's a bit odd to say a favourite thing about Sheffield is not Sheffield at all, but Derbyshire. But for me one of Sheffield's great selling points is that you can get out into marvellous countryside so quickly.
I particularly like the walks around Monsal Head and along the edges around Baslow and Froggatt. The views are fantastic. But I only go there in the summer. In the winter I tend to give the countryside a miss.

Coles

I'm not much of a shopper, but when I do need something, I go to Coles, or John Lewis as we now have to try to call it. It went through an odd patch a year or so back when they discontinued a lot of useful everyday things that you could just pop in and get but normal service seems to have been resumed.
And all credit to them for having stayed in the city centre through thick and thin. They have been a real mainstay for the centre.

Crucible

Musicians tend not to get out to much in the evening because they are always working when everyone else is off to the theatre or the movies. But I am a real snooker fan and usually manage to get to the Crucible to see some of the matches. It works brilliantly at the Crucible and I hope Sheffield can hang on to it.

Central Library

The Central Library has a very decent, useful music section and I go there a lot but I fear for its future. It will be real loss to the city if it gets squeezed out.
It is not just professional musicians like me who use it, but young musicians, students and school pupils. It is something else I hope we can hang on to.

Rare Breeds Centre

A quirky place I really enjoy and always recommend to visitors is the rare breeds centre at Graves Park. They have some of the most threatened and rarely-seen breeds of farm animals in the country.
If you haven't been there, it is well worth dropping in.