St Michael's Church, Dalston

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Dalston Male Voice Choir, treated a relaxed audience to its Sunny Songs concert in St Michael’s Church, Dalston, and joining it, by invitation, was the talented young local musician Will Nixon, playing the piano.

Michael Deakin conducted in his usual decisive manner, David Wood made announcements with well researched details about each item, and Lorraine Gash accompanied the choir on the piano.

Most of the songs have been regularly performed in the choir’s repertoire, with favourites like Rhythm of life, Nessum Dorma, and Speed your Journey, but on this occasion it premiered Tydi a Roddaist with words by T Rowland Hughes and music by Arwel Hughes. Being sung in Welsh there was a tiny hiccup with some words, but that is excusable for an English choir’s premiere!

Will Nixon took to the church’s grand piano, in two sessions, to play music by Bach, Brahms and Gershwin, all in sensitive and gripping fashion, giving pleasure to all tastes

After the concert the audience and choir enjoyed a finger buffet with wine.