This was Jubilo's first concert with the New Town & Stockbridge Community Orchestra, an interesting group of young and enthusiastic musicians who shared the programme with Jubilo, contributing orchestral pieces and accompanying the choir who also presented some unaccompanied music.

The evening opened with Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave, giving the orchestra the opportunity to create a moving variety of atmospheric musical images. The choir continued the theme with sensitive performances of Stanford's settings of three poems by Coleridge and an Elizabethan frolic, "Shall We Go Dance?". Various playroom instruments joined the orchestra for a jolly performance of Haydn's "Toy Symphony" and the first part of the programme was brought to a close with the choir joining the orchestra in Faure's haunting "Pavane".

The second half began with six "Choral Dances" from Benjamin Britten's opera "Gloriana". The sometimes strident, sometimes rich harmonies along with a variety of rhythmic patterns and opportunities for ladies and men to perform separately was an interesting contrast to the earlier Stanford pieces. The evening concluded with a rousing rendition by choir and orchestra of Mozart's "Solemn Vespers" with Stephanie Lewis leaving her place in the orchestra to provide an inspiring soprano solo lead.

This was an enjoyable experience for choir, orchestra and, it is hoped, our audience.