There have been many complimentary comments following our concerts last weekend. Perhaps the most pertinent and succinct came from Brian Sample, “That was indeed a triumph!”

Brian could have critiqued the score, the Choir, the soloists and the orchestra individually, not to mention our conductor, Carlos.  But his choice of words summed up the essence both of playing Tchaikovsky and of singing Karl Jenkins – it is a joint effort.  Everyone has to learn, to practice and to concentrate, to give of their own best whilst being sensitive to all that is going on around them.  It seems that is exactly what we did, led by the ever inspirational Carlos.

In the Nutcracker Suite, it seemed that the orchestra hit exactly the right combinations of fun and seriousness, levity and weight.  The carols, as always, were well received by an attentive and vocal audience.  From within the Choir, Stella Natalis went well right from the first “Celebro”.  Entries were mostly firm; there was much light and shade; we all ended sustained notes together following Carlos’ direction.  The mood of the music changed noticeably from movement to movement. It was easy as a singer to be totally absorbed in communicating the music and its message to the audience.  The standing ovations brought the reverie to a climax and then let us down back into the real world.

Special mention must be made of our soloists Anita Kyle and Anthony Aarons; Angela our accompanist; and of course the man at whose baton the buck stops – Carlos.  His relentless energy and enthusiasm at such a difficult time have been an example to us all.  He said that his driving force is the belief that music has the power to lift lives beyond the everyday.  These concerts have demonstrated such power beyond doubt.