RSNO Christmas Café Orchestra

We were invited to a rather lovely Christmas concert yesterday; an evening with the RSNO’s Café Orchestra. It was in a new auditorium at the Royal Concert Hall, which is very smart, and has only been open for a year, as the new home for the RSNO. The Henry Wood Hall, where Ally and Davie used to rehearse with the RSNO Junior Chorus, has now been sold. Being part of the Junior Chorus, directed by the amazing Christopher Bell, was a fantastic experience for the boys. They learned so much about music and also had the experience of performing on the stage in the choir. It was worth the long days on each Monday where we would set off for our respective schools in the morning, have tea, then choir, and then get home about 9 pm! The Café Orchestra performed a selection of 1920s Latin and Jazz Music – and the leader told us a bit about some of the composers such as Irving Berlin (rags to riches) and Cole Porter (riches to even more riches). Quite a lot of the music had a festive feel, given the time of year, and there was also a vocalist (Miriam Elwell-Sutton) who had a beautiful voice and sang “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. We met quite a few people that we knew and chatted with them over drinks and canapés.