Percussionists everywhere must have been eating their hearts out, Evelyn Glennie was definitely in the building and showing everyone how it is done.

She was the special guest at the Brighton Youth Orchestra (BYO) Festival concert, which was the main celebration of its diamond jubilee.

The barefoot and deaf diva of the drums gave a stunning performance of a spectacular Dave Heath piece, African Suite Manhattan Rave, a piece especially written for Glennie.

It combines African rhythms with a sound landscape of New York and, although it began comparatively quietly with Evelyn on marimbas, it really let rip once it got going.

She made a stunning noise, giving every jazz and rock drummer more than a run for their money.

The orchestra has always made music in a manner that is mature beyond the age of its players and this concert was no exception.

It opened with a smoothly done Fantasy Overture from Romeo And Juliet by Tchaikovsky and ended with an almost flawless reading of Holst's The Planets.

What was notable was the tremendous concentration of these youngsters, summed up by the little chap playing the cymbals, he was firmly focused on the score and on conductor Andrew Sherwood and was determined that the cymbals, almost as big as he was, would sound the right note at the right time.