A large audience attended the orchestral concert at Christchurch given by the London Mozart Players, an event promoted by Cockermouth Music Society and generously supported by Orchestras Live, a charitable organization now in its fiftieth year of operation. Elgar’s serene Serenade for Strings began the evening, followed by two pieces from the music William Walton wrote for the film Henry V – very appropriate as the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt was last week! A new trumpet concerto by Anna Segal, who attended the concert, proved to be both interesting and attractive and the solo part was beautifully realised by trumpeter Paul Archibald with much technical virtuosity and big sound.

After the interval the music jumped back a couple of centuries to a Chaconne by Purcell and Jeremiah Clarke’s Trumpet Suite, again given superlative treatment by Paul Archibald, and then came a wonderful finale with Britten’s Simple Symphony being played with verve and vigour by an orchestra who brought out all the colourful themes, particularly the pizzicato movement, quite splendidly. Sparks flew in the encore, a fizzing rendering of LeRoy Anderson’s appropriately named Plink Plank Plunk, strings being plucked throughout by an orchestra throwing themselves into enjoying a great tune.