BASINGSTOKE in Union is a great title for a concert and this is exactly what we had in the Mayor’s Charity Spring Concert at The Anvil.

The massed choirs and orchestra began with One Voice by Barry Manilow arranged by Frank Bernaerts and they ended with Wolrd in Union by Holst, arranged by Diane Fuller.

Throughout the evening we were treated to music, song and dance from around the world and all of it performed by schools and organisations from Basingstoke and Deane.

This year the producer was John Fuller, director of the Hampshire Music Service in Basingstoke. This was in so many ways a good choice but especially because it meant that most of the music was played live.

There were four dance schools invited to take part: JG Dance, TMC Bollywood Dancers, Basingstoke Academy of Dancing and Boyle O’Dowda Academy of Irish Dancing. Each school had its own unique style, so that there was something for everyone.

I really enjoyed the soloist who sang Angel to accompany the ballet performed by JG Dance; the stillness in the audience indicated how everyone was entranced. The Boyle O’Dowda dancers were accompanied by the Basingstoke Area Youth Orchestra playing Lord of the Dance and, as the tempo increased and the dancing became faster and faster, I did wonder if they would manage to finish together – but they did, to loud applause.

There was also a lively tap-dance routine to represent the recently highly acclaimed Gang Show 2014.

The Youth Orchestra opened the second half with Dubinushka by Rimsky-Korsakov and this was special too; it was good to see the young people tackling such difficult but inspiring music.

As there were 21 different items in the programme, I can but give you a flavour of the concert. Hatch Warren Infant School were there; such a big hall for such little children but, they seemed totally unfazed by the whole experience. They were the third item in and I was already calling for an encore!

The Basingstoke Area Wind Orchestra gave us a beautiful arrangement of one of my favourite folk songs The Water is Wide and the performers and audience seemed to respond well to such a beautiful melody.

The singers filling the choir stalls were from two senior schools, Bishop Challoner and Costello, three primary schools, Overton, Silchester and St Bede’s, and Basingstoke Area Youth Choir.

They were sometimes accompanied by the full orchestra but when Siobhan Smith was conducting them, they had a brilliant young accompanist on the piano, Adam Turner. When not accompanying them, he was playing trumpet in the orchestra!

Michael Woods, who used to be principal trumpet and percussion player for BAYO and principal percussionist for the Hampshire Youth Orchestra, was technical director and sound operator for this show.

There were some very imaginative lighting effects and I especially liked the little house logo for Sebastian’s Action Trust – The Bluebells played out in lighting on the extended Anvil stage. This is one of the Mayor’s charities and the Mayor Councillor Dan Putty chose HIOW Community Fund for the other.

Yet amongst all of this there was something which touched my heart in a way I will never forget. The Bluebells Family Choir was especially formed for the Mayor’s Concert and is made up of families , including some of the sick children, and staff from the family services team.

They were conducted by Mark Halls, who skilfully brought in all the other choirs for the chorus of Gary Barlow’s Sing.

He may not have been aware that, as he conducted all the choirs, a lovely young girl in a wheelchair lifted her arms up high and made a remarkably good job of conducting with him!

It was magical – she definitely stole my heart.

Hannah Williams