Hart Male Voice Choir with special guests the RAF Odiham Military Wives Choir

All Saints Church, Odiham

IT was almost standing room only for this concert in support of the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice.

It attracted a capacity audience of more than 320 who filled all the pews and even overflowed into the rarely used upper gallery seating areas.

There was a real buzz of expectation as the audience settled down for a concert that had something for everyone.

Hart Male Voice Choir presented a preview of the programme they will take to Portugal later in September for a five-concert tour.

As well as favourites such as Cwm Rhondda, Kalinka, Salute Africa, and Rhythm of Life there were delightful new solo performances by choir members who musical director Margaret Brackenborough has coached over recent months.

For this special Odiham occasion, a powerful rendition of Mansions of the Lord from the film We Were Soldiers was sung and dedicated to the five RAF Lynx Helicopter crew members who were killed recently in Afghanistan.

The RAF Odiham Military Wives sang a selection of popular songs including the hugely successful Wherever You Are, which was written for Military Wives Choirs during the Gareth Malone TV programme The Choir.

As the finale, the Military Wives sang an arrangement of Songs that Won the War. On leaving the church, audience members enthused about the variety and excellent vocal quality of the choirs.

The retiring collection, when added to ticket sales, amounted to a total donation of nearly £3500 for the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice.

David Bowden-Smith