A full and enthusiastic house greeted the Steeton Male Voice Choir and their special guests, the Hammonds Saltaire Band.

Sound an Alarm, from Handel’s oratorio Judas Maccabeus, is a good work-out for any choir and from the outset showed the agility and the excellent balance and blending of the eighty voices. The beautiful harmonies of the popular Negro spiritual Steal Away were enriched by the dynamic shading and colouring achieved by the choir’s musical director Alan Clark. The humming passages in Robert Pracht’s beautiful song Das Morgenrot (Sunrise) were pitch perfect, whilst Gotthilf Fischer’s Frieden (Peace) was notable for the crystal clear projection of the German text. Deputy conductor Noel Aspinal presided over the lively Czardas arranged by Otto Groll with its infectious rhythmic vitality and rousing shout of "Hey" which concludes the piece. Sir Hugh Roberton’s song The Old Woman showed the choir’s ability to sing very softly and yet with clarity of detail, whilst Stanley Dickson’s Thanks be to God produced a beautifully controlled crescendo. Both pieces were also conducted by Noel Aspinal. Alan Clark returned to conduct the choir’s final set which included Comrades in Arms and The Fields of Atheny, ending with You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Hammonds Saltaire Band’s performances of Gershwin’s Strike up the Band, Kabalevsky’s Comedian’s Galop, and Three Dance Episodes from Bernstein’s West Side Story demonstrated exactly why these fine musicians, conducted by Morgan Griffiths, are such a force to be reckoned with in the brass band world. They are the current Yorkshire Area Champions and winners of the Northern Open Championship. Jamie Smith, brilliant cornet soloist in the Maids of Cadiz is only 16, and equally brilliant euphonium soloist Matthew Allsop in Carnival of Venice didn’t look much older. Band and choir combined with vigorous audience participation for the Last Night of the Proms-style finale. Ample proof that the great Yorkshire choral and brass band traditions are alive and flourishing.