WHAT a delight it was to see, once again, a packed house for the InChorus Christmas Concert.

There was a warm welcome outside from cheery Peebles High School students, all happened up against the rain, who were selling tickets for a hampers raffle and other Christmas prizes.

As always, the ever enthusiastic InChorus arrived swiftly on stage and, together with the PHS Choir sang Pink’s 'Just Give Me A Reason’ and the carol, 'Swing A Ding Dong’. The young people left the stage and InChorus got down to business. As a tribute to Nelson Mandela they sang Tin’s 'Baba Yetu’ which is a wonderful piece for so many voices. This rendition sent shivers down my spine.

Musical Director, Andrew Russel, explained that in 2013 the choir had been concentrating on 'dynamics’. That is soft and loud to most of us. This was very evident in their beautiful rendition of Coldplay’s 'Viva La Vida’. They were then allowed to let rip with Katy Perry’s 'Roar’.

After everyone sang 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing’, there was a wonderful contrast with a 'mash up’ by Ben Jones (who sings with The Scottish Police Choir), called 'Old Man Blue Moon River’. When the basses, led by John Taylor, sang the 'Old Man River’ section, something happened to the hairs on the back of my neck. It was an outstanding performance by the choir.

Then came the fast and furious 'I Wanna Be’, a mixture of 'I Wanna Be Like You’ and 'The Bare Necessities’ from The Jungle Book. This was sung at a phenomenal pace and had children dancing in the aisles! An amalgamation of Katy Perry’s 'Firework’ (does Mr Russel really have a crush on Katy Perry?) and Journey’s 'Don’t Stop Believin’’ followed, and the first half ended with The Blues Brother’s 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love’.

The interval gave us a chance to partake of some delicious hot fruit punch and bakery produced by Peebles High School’s Health and Wellbeing department. Rector, Campbell Wilson, drew the raffle before proudly introducing his own students who opened the second half.

The PHS Brass Ensemble made a fantastic sound with their performances of 'Jingle Bell Bougie’, 'Three Kings Rock’ and 'Singin’ with the Mountain King’. The church’s acoustics are ideal for brass and the students filled it with a mature, polished sound. Callum Culbert needs a particular mention for his excellent tuba solo in the last piece.

The girls choir gave a moving performance of two angel themed carols, 'The Angel Gabriel’ by Chilcott and Rutter’s 'Angels’ Carol’. The pure sound of the girls’ voices ensured that this really was music to the ears. The smaller mixed voice chamber choir sang Rameau’s 'La Nuit’ made famous by the film 'Les Choristes’. The soloist was talented soprano Kara Smith. Finally, the girls choir performed the very popular 'Sing’ by Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

While everyone sang 'O Come All Ye Faithful’, InChorus returned to the stage. Their next song was my favourite of the evening. They sang Andrew Russel’s arrangement of Keane’s 'Somewhere Only We Know’ which, as the melody flowed from one choir section to the other, was absolutely beautiful.

Anyone who is a follower of InChorus will already have heard a version of Andrew Russel’s 'Classical Misusic’. He has revamped it and, once again, his true talent shines through and showcases the versatility and vocal ability of the choir. For fun some audience participation was incorporated, but it didn’t detract from the brilliance of the piece. The audience was obviously bowled over by the new arrangement. The applause was deafening.

The evening closed with a couple more carols sung by InChorus and we were all left wanting much more. A lady sitting next to me said that she had been trying to come to an InChorus concert for years and had finally made it.

She said she had never heard anything so wonderful. She, too, spoke about the hairs standing up on the back of her neck, and about holding back tears because the sound was so “emotional, full and just amazing”.

That’s how it strikes everyone. The energy and vocal quality of the choir is outstanding. All members look as though they are having the time of their lives. Their involvement in the music is total.

To my mind it was the best InChorus concert yet!

EA