THE weather outside was frightful but thankfully the music inside was delightful.

Performers and audience alike braved the snowy roads last Thursday evening for another successful Peebles High School Christmas concert.

Following tradition, the concert band started off proceedings with 500 Miles and a classy arrangement of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Next, it was great to see and hear the return of a pipes and drums group ably led by S6 students Matthew Forbes and Robbie Gordon. Their Christmas lights made the occasion even more festive.

There was a confident performance of Roar by the string orchestra to follow, then a continuation of the animal theme with the brass group’s rendition of The Elephant, featuring Callum Culbert and Lewis Copeland on tubas.

The flute group were joined by percussionists for Il est né, a delightful arrangement by Borders composer Brian Bonsor. Next up, the guitar group took us to Jamaica with a reggae-style piece by PHS guitar teacher Ross Milligan, led in his absence by S6 pupil Christopher Taylor.

The jazz band was one of the many highlights of the evening, with enthusiastic audience participation in Minnie the Moocher and swinging festive fun with All I Want for Christmas.

Starting off the second half was the Germany exchange group with their lyrically unusual but effective arrangements of two of the articles of the European Declaration of Human Rights. Silly hats to remind them of their fun visit to Werl in September were a memorable visual feature.

The mature sound of the saxophone quartet came next, with impressive performances of Let it Snow, Newsreel and Looney Tunes, followed by toe-tapping reels from the now enormous ceilidh band.

Another growing ensemble is the choir, now numbering over 50, who performed When I Grow Up from Tim Minchin’s musical Matilda. This featured a beautiful solo from S1 soprano Kristin Beards and was followed by the triumphant Star and the Magi by another Borders composer, James Letham.

Finally, the orchestra assembled for a stirring performance of Pirates of the Caribbean and 70s Christmas Medley, featuring solos from Anton Kobus, Laura Macleod, Eilidh Davidson, Sarah Eggleton, Euan Millan, Oliver Levine and James Carvahlo. Just some of many, many talented musicians involved in another fantastic concert by Peebles High School’s Music Department.

With special thanks to the PTA for providing refreshments and to the following local business for providing raffle prizes: Eastgate Theatre, Castle Warehouse, Whitie’s Books and Crafts, Stems florist, Head to Toe, Stobo Castle Health Spa, At First Sight Beauty, The Gift Box and Tesco.

A DVD of photos taken by Lucy Husband is available for sale from the Music Department priced £2.