POIGNANCY, excitement, drama and without doubt – talent - it was all there for the 18th concert at The Anvil showcasing the Hampshire Music Service in Basingstoke.

The poignancy came from some of the youngest of the 400 singers and musicians taking part, a small group of children average age about nine years old and led by Liz Hay sang “I ain’t gonna study war no more” with such fervour and conviction. I found it most touching!

Chiki Okafar was the soloist for Oh Happy Day and her rich, velvety voice was an absolute joy!

Some amazing concerts have taken place all over the country commemorating the 70th anniversary of V.E. Day but the John Fuller-led event here in Basingstoke was all I needed to remind me of what a special day it was.

The string orchestra gave us some lovely melodies from The Sound of Music. No one could possibly listen to Edelweiss without thinking of the perils of war. Paul Timms chose the Allegro from Sinfonia in G by Albioni for their first piece; he invariably chooses a programme of music which is so right for the occasion.

Basingstoke Youth Choir, directed by Kath Penn, sang everything a cappella which was a huge achievement. How I would love to hear this group tackle an old English madrigal– this is part of their cultural heritage and I am sure they would have such fun.

The Youth Wind Orchestra with conductor Diane Fuller contributed to the excitement of the concert – cymbals crashing, great attack with drums and xylophones and a lovely melody played beautifully by all the wind instruments; this was during Nigel Hess’s Stephenson’s Rocket and a great choice straight after Todd Salter’s Critical Mass.

This year we were treated to a Saint-Saens Organ Concerto with talented soloist Adam Turner. I thought at first The Anvil had acquired a huge cathedral type pipe-organ, the sound was so huge but, it came amazingly from an electronic instrument!

The stage-management team were superbly supported by compere Howard Bentley who gave us interesting snippets about the orchestras as the team swiftly re-arranged the chairs for the seven different ensembles.

The percussion ensemble was started by Wendy Harding in 2006 and they have recently acquired a set of tubular bells at a cost of £5000. The addition of well trained percussionists to the orchestras makes such a difference.

The massed choir from two senior schools, Bishop Challoner and The Costello School, and four junior schools, Oakley Junior, Fairfields Primary, St. Bede’s Catholic and St. Mary’s C. of E., was especially good this year.

These schools have always had a good reputation for their musical education work. It is such a great idea that they should all sing together accompanied by a full orchestra. Ten soloists were given the opportunity to shine with the 200 strong choir and they were all noticeably unfazed by the packed house – true professionals.

The music obviously appealed to both singers and instrumentalists and they made the most of the finale with Thank You for the Music and a spirited performance of Brian May’s We Will Rock You. The encore was well-deserved.