We enjoyed another splendid evening of orchestral music in Grayshott on 27th May, courtesy of the violinist Shoshanah Sievers, conductor Jonathan Bloxham and the London Mozart Players.

The concert opened with the dramatic overture to Mozart's Don Giovanni. The story is that Mozart left the composition of the overture so late that he handed the final pages of his manuscript to the copyists as the performance was about to begin, who then had to pass the still wet pages to the musicians to play on first sight.

The London Mozart Players doubtless have rehearsed many times, and they delivered the overture's fearful quality reflecting Giovanni's final descent into hell at the hands of the Commendatore's statue with drama and precision.

Soloist Shoshanah Sievers has played for us on numerous occasions, and her youthful genius has developed still further from her earlier performances.

Shoshanah grew up in Grayshott, and we are proud that we have been able to help her develop her wonderful talent. The Bruch Violin Concerto is one of the staples of the repertoire but Shoshanah brought a freshness and élan to her performance which made one hear the work almost for the first time. This is a remarkably mature quality for a performer so young.

The concert ended with a stirring performance of Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony (No. 3). Like his Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave) the work was inspired by the composer's visit to Scotland in 1829. Less well known than his famous 4th symphony - the Italian - the symphony nevertheless fully deserves its place in the repertoire.

Jonathan Bloxham brought us a taut and tightly controlled performance which was not short on highlighting the richly romantic melodies for which Mendelssohn is famous.

In short, another musical triumph for Grayshott Concerts !

Oh what a night it was ! Another sell-out performance (continuing our unbroken record across eighteen years of concerts), with a good number of new faces as well as many familiar ones.

The London Festival Opera singers and ensemble were quite wonderful. The singers were in Victorian costume for most of the concert which added a wonderful visual layer of theatricality to their fantastic musical performances.

Indeed, LMP told us that their performances at Grayshott Concerts are by far the largest socially-distanced audiences that they are aware of throughout the whole of southern England - we're so pleased that we've been able to pull this off !

Compared by many audience members to the Last Night of the Proms, works selected by London Festival Opera to perform specially for Grayshott included more than 20 pieces from well-known operas including La Traviata, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Rigoletto, Romeo and Juliet, The Barber of Seville, Carmen, Madame Butterfly and Tosca. In addition to many well-known favourites, we were also treated to some lesser-known compositions including a selection of excerpts from Beethoven's Fedelio.

Peter Harrison opened the event with style before handing over to host for the evening and London Festival Opera founder, Philip Blake-Jones. Introducing an international line-up including singers from Spain, Wales, England, the USA, South Korea and Russia, Philip also told us that this was LFO's first live performance in almost two years!

It was also wonderful to welcome back some performers who have previously entertained us at Grayshott, like Håkan Vramsmo, who was part of the world premiere of Karl Jenkins' The Healer: A Cantata for St. Luke here in 2014. His rendition of Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville was quite superb.

Grayshott Concerts always aims to offer excellent value for money, bringing world-class performers to the stage in Grayshott and London Festival Opera did not disappoint with a packed programme and several encores, not least the hilarious Meow Song.

Another sell-out concert, another exceptional performance followed justifiably with a standing ovation - bravo indeed !

From nurses to teachers, retail assistants and volunteers of all kinds, over 200 local residents who have worked in the community throughout the Covid crisis came together on Friday night for a free Thank You concert at St Luke's Church in Grayshott. The concert featured a range of popular classical music performed by the London Mozart Players and was organised by local music charity Grayshott Concerts.

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Outstanding volunteer Peter Harrison is among just 500 people across the UK to be chosen as one of Queen Consort Camilla's Coronation Champions for his dedication to Grayshott Concerts, our own charity that he, with his wife Vivien, co-founded in 2004.

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The Premiere of Sir Karl jenkins's Miserere (Psalm 51) featured three of the world's most sought-after ensembles including: Polyphony Choir (making their second appearance in Grayshott), Britten Sinfonia Orchestra (in Grayshott for the first time), Iestyn Davies (regarded as one of the foremost counter-tenors in the world), all under the baton of choir-director supreme, Stephen Layton.

The line-up also included soloists, Zands Duggan (percussion), Abel Selaocoe (cello) and Alis Huws (harp). The concert was recorded by Classic FM for broadcast at a later date.

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We were thrilled to be joined by John Suchet, the presenter of Classic FM’s flagship weekday-morning programme, who proved to be a thoroughly charming host for Jamal Aliyev's performance of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme in September 2019.

Jamal, aged just 26, is a 'BBC Introducing Classical Artist' and winner of numerous international awards. As well as the Variations, he also performed a new piece especially composed for him by our patron Sir Karl Jenkins which received its premiere at the concert.

The programme also included Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, Mendelssohn's popular Overture to a Midsummer Night's Dream together with one of Mozart’s best-loved Symphonies, No.35, 'The Haffner'.

Before joining Classic FM, John Suchet was best known as one of the country's most popular television newsreaders and newscasters. With a lifelong passion for classical music, he is an acknowledged expert and writer on major composers including Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. John also stayed on to sign copies of his books, including 'Tchaikovsky: The Man Revealed' published in 2018.

The event was sponsored by Applegarth Farm and Surrey Oaks Wealth Management, to whom we express our gratitude for their crucial support.

Following seven months of enforced silence, our 2020 programme restarted with two superb performances of Mozart's Viola Quintet and a Mendelssohn Octet for good measure from the London Mozart Players.

In the light of current government guidance, working closely with our orchestra-in-residence LMP, we came up with an innovative solution to ensure that we could continue to bring world-class classical music to all of our treasured concert-goers. We felt it was especially important after a period of difficulty where many have been separated from friends and family, to be able to offer a safe and sociable event to as many as wished to attend.

Indeed, LMP told us that their performances at Grayshott Concerts are by far the largest socially-distanced audiences that they are aware of throughout the whole of southern England - we're so pleased that we've been able to pull this off !

By hosting two duplicate concerts on consecutive days, with a select group of musicians, we were able to welcome all of our Friends as well as newcomers, in two sessions. Thus a smaller audience than we would traditionally host and we were delighted that feedback from many who came was that this did not detract in any way. If anything, it created an even more atmospheric evening, with a deepened level of intimacy between the musicians and audience.

For us, their selected programme included Mozart's Viola Quintet No.4 in G minor and Mendelssohn's Octet in E flat major and here's what one of our audience thought of the occasion:

"If you needed any event to blow away the Covid blues, then Grayshott Concerts' presentation of Mendelssohn's 'Octet' by the London Mozart players was just the one to do it. Bursting with joy and energy, with the orchestra standing throughout, the work throbbed with excitement and enthusiasm. After months of 'online' music only, the recollection of how live music goes straight to the heart, struck each one of us from the very first note. We yearned to yell our approval at the end - but Covid rules say 'No'. So it was applause only - and how we applauded! The 80-strong audience sounded almost as loud as the usual 330+.

It was a spectacular return to live music in the community. Well done LMP. You were terrific!"