UNDER the direction of their new musical director, Richard Howarth, the orchestra presented an attractive programme which opened with Borodin’s energetic and colourful overture, Prince Igor.

The orchestra captured the spirit of the piece, although the performance could have moved at a faster pace to capture the wild, exotic nature of this music.

There were some uncertainties in the opening fanfares but ‘the big tune’ – the patriotic song of the captured hero, Prince Igor - was beautifully played by the cellos who, together with the six double basses, provided a firm foundation for the upper strings.

Bridget Mermikides was the guitar soloist in Rodrigo’s well-known Concierto de Aranjuez and her performance was sheer delight from beginning to end.

She has a fine technique and made the rapid passage work sound effortless, while the moving slow movement - so full of pathos - was played with great sensitivity.

So pleased was the audience that Bridget gave us an encore.

In the second half of the programme, we heard Sibelius’ Second Symphony.

This work contains many technical challenges even for professional orchestras, and there were some moments of insecurity.

But these were compensated for by the many impressive moments: the solo contributions of woodwind sectional leaders, the pizzicato opening by cellos and double basses in the slow movement; and, of course, the brass section who brought the performance to an exciting conclusion.