I’ll take your brain to another dimension … my classical DJ set at Glastonbury

‘My main aim was to create an upbeat mood for the hedonism ahead’ : a view of the hill above Glastonbury’s Park Stage, with the Crows Nest tent further up the hill. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/the Guardian

Waterproof trousers, ear plugs and a self-inflating mattress aren’t usually in my presenting kitbag but I’ve just packed away my tent and dug the mud out of my wellies after one of the most surreal gigs of my life: playing a DJ set at Glastonbury.

Several months ago an intriguing invitation came my way. The team at the Free University of Glastonbury asked if I wanted to cross the musical Rubicon and be the first act on at the Crow’s Nest at 11am on the Friday of the festival. Could I get a Glastonbury crowd primed for Coldplay, Black Pumas and Michael Kiwanuka to roar for Bach, Saint-Saëns and Sibelius? I selected an hour’s setlist spanning almost 500-years’ worth of music, told myself not to think too hard about the compost toilet situation, and headed for Worthy Farm.