Brighton and Hackney Youth Orchestras had never played together until their afternoon rehearsal but you would rarely have guessed that from the high standard of this concert which included some very demanding music.
The BBC's Ten Pieces were designed to open up classical music to young people including Mozart's famous Fourth Horn Concerto, Beethoven's fateful Fifth Symphony and Handel's Zadok The Priest coronation anthem.
Other pieces were briefer and more recently-written; highlights included John Adams' Short Ride In A Fast Machine, and Benjamin Britten's The Storm from his Sea Interludes, both played superbly by the Brighton orchestra.
Brighton composer Mike Johnson conducted his own Body Work in which the musicians stamp, clap, slap themselves, click their fingers and vocalise without instruments. The precision and panache of this performance was typical of the two orchestras' togetherness.
Peter Francomb opened the concert with a fine solo performance in the Mozart Horn Concerto. In Zadok The Priest, the choirs sang very well but would have benefitted by being forward of the orchestra.
Otherwise the vast spaces of All Saints were well used; percussion was recessed to avoid over-dominating and some musicians played standing which helped their sound to carry clearly.
Four stars
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