STUDENTS at the Elgar School of music are a talented bunch. They produce great variety of pieces in their instrumental specialities and era.

Led by Stephen Watkins, the ESM Songbirds sang Comedy Tonight (from Sondheim’s A Funny thing happened on the way to the Forum), Lionel Bart’s Who will buy? (from Oliver) and Anderson and Ulvaeus’s Mamma Mia - pieces that were used to start and finish the evening.

As well as the Monday Choir, who sang twice, the Flute Choir and the Cello orchestra, there were a number of soloists who excelled themselves. Georgia Francis’s Italian was very impressive in Una Donne a Quindici Anni by Mozart (her Jerome Kern song had a not-quite-so-convincing American accent) and violinist Dayna Townsend gave a rendition of Schubert’s The Bee, having no apparent problem in getting round the very fast runs.

As far as artistic maturity is concerned, many of the performers who played on this occasion still have much to learn, but what they do have to offer still made a very pleasant evening.