A cold night greeted the band, singers and audience in St. John’s Church, but once the music began, the atmosphere warmed.
Ashbourne Town Band, under the leadership of Russel Bevan, set the tone with the ‘British Legion March’ and ‘British Armed Forces Medley’. Linda Perry Smith led the Ashbourne Singers through a group of wartime songs and the audience joined in enthusiastically.
A highlight of the evening and a most moving piece, was ‘Remembrances from Schindler’s List’, played by Ellie Palmer on the violin.
The band and choir then joined together to perform two movements from Karl Jenkins’ ‘The Armed Man’, the gentle ‘Agnus Dei’ and the stirring ‘Hymn Before Action’.
After a welcome warm in the church hall and a cup of tea, the band played a Gershwin medley, ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square ‘ and Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’.
Another highlight was the voice of Linda, filling the church with her nostalgic ‘We’ll Gather Lilacs in the Spring’.
The whole church then rang to the sound of ‘Abide With Me’, before the prayers, the National Anthem and the Act of Homage drew the concert to a close.