On 6th December St Paul’s was happy to welcome back the NASUWT Riverside band for their Christmas concert. The eminent Professor Nicholas Childs returned as Principal conductor. The church was packed with hundreds of music lovers.
The concert began with a rousing opening Ashwell Carol and continued into a piece called Christmas Fantasy which was a medley of popular Christmas songs. Several soloists bravely took to the stage including a tenor horn, cornet, flugel and a rarely used baritone solo by Joe Ridgeon who seemed very keen to have his well deserved time in the spotlight. A very moving piece called Shepherd’s Lullaby we were told evoked memories of those we have lost and who won’t be here at Christmas with us. This was especially moving for me as it played at the exact time a relative’s funeral was taking place thousands of miles away : it was particularly haunting. The first half rounded off with a new arrangement of A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square by the young composer, Matthew Hall, which mixed the original song with dramatic, chaotic music.
After the interval the concert veered firmly into Christmas territory. The band started off with a instrumental song called Sleighride which had a band member playing a fascinating instrument consisting of two bits of wood which slapped together and led to some members of the audience dancing along enthusiastically. Marking the fortieth anniversary of the release of Do They Know It’s Christmas? the band performed a rearranged version which had Father David joining in by singing along impressively. There were also opportunities for official audience participation too with stomping renditions of O Come All Ye Faithful and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The evening concluded with an arrangement of Little Drummer Boy which allowed all of the instruments in the band to get their own solos. Finally the percussionists who had spent the evening doing laps of the church back and forth between their various percussion instruments could have a rest.
We all had a really enjoyable evening and the concert really got us into the mood for Christmas. We look forward to the NASUWT Riverside Band back to Ryhope again on 15th February to lift our spirits and lift the roof.
By Elaine Shanks