THE Kidderminster Valentines were joined by The Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir and soloist Kiera Lyness to bring some festive spirit to Kidderminster Town Hall.

Among the songs performed by the impressive male choir, who were singing in the town for the first time, was a soulful version of Shenandoah and the passionate There Is A Land.

Their varied programme also included You Raise Me Up, of which a version is currently in the charts, and Christmas carols, among them a beautiful rendition of When A Child is Born.

Soprano, Kiera Lyness, was equally impressive. She has an incredible voice and the notes she reached were simply amazing especially when she performed Doretta's aria from La Rondine by Puccini.

She also treated the audience to Poor Wand'ring One from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance and Allelujah from Mozart's Exultate Jubilate.

The Kidderminster Valentines got everybody a festive mood with Christmas tunes including the lively Silver Bells, Silent Night, of which the first verse was sung in German in recognition of their trips to Kidderminster's twin town Husum and their accompanist Morfudd Sinclair's arrangement of the classic Winter Wonderland.

The audience was given plenty of opportunities to sing along and they happily joined in when invited to by the Valentine's musical director Pam Cunningham.

To finish everybody sang the carol Good King Wenceslas, which was then followed by the Welsh National Anthem and the English National Anthem.

It was a really enjoyable evening and just the thing to start the Christmas season.

HL