Deck the Hall with snowflakes - the Marchwood Prelude Orchestra Winter Wonderland Concert
Raises over £500 for "The Crossings" charity

Marchwood Village Hall was a sea of snowflakes for the Prelude Orchestra
winter concert but the music was red hot. The Winter Wonderland theme
brought out some obvious favourites like Sleigh Ride and Walking in the Air
for the Sunday afternoon audience of over a hundred people. The theme from
Swan Lake, newly arranged by conductor Bernard Chinonso, and Waltz of the
Flowers from the Nutcracker brought the classics into the programme.

California Dreaming may not seem like an obvious winter tune, until you
realise it was written by the Mamas and Papas' Michelle and John Fhillips
sitting in a frozen New York hotel wishing they were home. Christmas also
featured in the repertoire of the orchestra and other ensembles performing,
with Jose Feliciano's Feliz Navidad, a fairly new addition to the Christmas
music lexicon, proving to be a firm favourite.

Compere for the afternoon was Phil Elsey, a stand-up kind of guy, and he
treated us to a comedy interlude which filled the hall on cue with
cheers and well-meaning groans as he reeled off Christmas cracker jokes.
It's the Edinburgh fringe for him next year, maybe not!  Phil is one of the
many members of the orchestra who put in such a lot of work to making the
Prelude concerts happen, not least Angela Mabey who designed and decorated
the hall and backdrop with a team of helpers.

Proceeds of £510.72 from the concert are going to local Waterside charity The
Crossings which works with homeless people. In the interval Andy Clarke, the
project leader, described its work highlighting the variety of issues that
the twenty volunteers deal with - from people facing eviction often through
no fault of their own, to people forced to sofa surf, or sleep rough. The
charity provides the support that for people needing help to improve their
situation. He pointed out that although homelessness is often associated
with cities and more urban areas, the charity had helped over 150 people on the Waterside
since it began five years ago.

The Marchwood Music Society had a number of smaller groups within its ranks,
as people extend their work with their instrument. , Sandwiched between the
orchestra's performances The Flutes of the Forests, The Marchwood
Clarinotes, and Saxophonous each performed a short programme, with the
Clarinotes - a new grouping, performing a 'duet' of Deck the Halls with the
flautists. 

The concert ended with an audience singalong of Winter Wonderland and We
Wish You A Merry Christmas.

You can find out more about The Crossings, and donate, at
www.thecrossings.org.uk, and the orchestra at www.marchwoodmusicsociety.com
 
Marchwood Prelude’s next concert, “Out Of This World “ will be on Saturday 9^th May at 7pm in Marchwood Village Hall.