When I returned, tired and jet-lagged from my two-week tour of South America, I thought that I would be having a quiet week at home. Little did I know that I would be rung up at only hours notice to replace the wonderful singer Barbara Bonney who was due to give a performance with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. No, they didn't want me to sing (surprise!), but Rumon Gamba had thought of me immediately as someone who would be able to step in to fill the gap. Never having played in Iceland before and excited at the prospect of working with Rumon, whom I had encountered earlier in the year in Switzerland, I decided to put jet-lag and fatigue on hold for a bit longer and fly out!

I took the late flight on Wednesday night which was then further delayed and finally arrived in Reykjavik at past midnight - which, with the time difference, felt like one o'clock in the morning to me... I was beginning to feel very sleepy as I stepped in to the car which had been provided by the orchestra and was on the way in to the city centre when I glanced outside to see the most extraordinary sight! The sky was alive with dancing and glowing patterns which moved mysteriously, changing every moment in front of my eyes! I asked my driver whether these were the Northern Lights, which are so famous and he replied that they were and that I was extremely lucky indeed to see them so very clearly as it is rare to do so. From that moment on, I was wide awake and couldn't take my eyes of the night sky, clearly lit by this extraordinary feat of nature. The shapes were incredible - great flames of white shot up in to the galaxy and, then morphed into swirls - one moment a box shape, the next a long line, then a spiral - it was the most wonderful introduction to Iceland.

However, once near the city, they disappeared from view and I was left with the boring prospect of a late check-in and as much sleep as the hour would permit. I got up early the next morning, as I had to be ready to rehearse the Mendelssohn at 11am and still needed to practice the piece some more. The first - and only - rehearsal with the orchestra went very well and they gave me a thoroughly warm reception, thanking me and cheering me for being brave enough to take on the concert at such short notice. I spotted some microphones and asked Rumon whether the concert was being taped - the reply was that it was a live broadcast! This news had not filtered through to me before and was a bit of a shock! After the rehearsal, I grabbed a spot of lunch and headed for my room to try to sleep a bit.

When I got up, I had a shower but was alarmed to find the most awful smell of sulphur emanating from the water - goodness, was I going to smell worse than before I stepped in??? Thankfully, I think that the smell did not linger too long and when I quizzed Rumon on it later, he replied that the sulphurous smell came because the hot water in the hotel came directly from the earth where it was heated naturally! In fact, they have to cool the water down otherwise it would boil one alive!!! What a thought.. and what an extra-ordinary country this was turning out to be.

Back at the hall, I got myself ready to go on stage and walked out to a very warm and full concert hall - I sensed the interest and expectation of the audience and was determined not to disappoint them. Also, as the concert was a live broadcast, it always adds to the sense of excitement in walking on stage. I could not have been more pleased, both with the way that the performance went and the quality of the orchestra, but also with the audience reaction. They gave me an ovation that lasted nearly four minutes and the rhythmic handclapping signified that the public were quite determined not to let me go without a little encore, which I duly gave them. More enthusiastic applause ensued and a couple more curtain calls.

After the interval, I went to listen to the second half of the concert and was introduced to the British Ambassador who had come especially because he had heard that I was going to take over. I felt rather touched about that! And, after a lovely performance of Brahms' 4th Symphony, I was whisked off to an amazing dinner with Rumon and Helga from the orchestra, where I ate aromatic lobster and crayfish in a seafood foam, and drank some delicious Rioja wine.

I fell in to bed at just gone midnight but sadly did not stay there for long enough - at 5.15am my alarm woke me and I had to get up and go to the airport. I flew home and had a few hours to unpack and re-pack for my concert the next day in Leeds. I had a terrific time there too and, when I got home on Sunday night, it occurred to me that I had given 11 concerts in 19 days in 5 different countries, two of which were debut countries within a week of each other.

So I think I'll be happy to stay at home for a few days now... until the next phone call, that is...!

Tasmin