LAST Saturday saw female vocal ensemble Seraphim join Malvern's Jenny Lind Singers in concert at St Gregory's Church.

Seraphim were visiting Worcestershire from their home county Suffolk and gave three performances over the weekend, singing at Worcester Cathedral on Saturday afternoon and The Church of the Ascension in Malvern on Sunday. Their special sound is produced by individual soloists coming together to blend as a whole under the baton of Vetta Wise and their performances were received with much enthusiasm and acclaim.

The Jenny Lind Singers, directed by Lynne Lindner, lived up to their well established reputation and delivered a varied and moving programme with the addition of a number of solo items. Sopranos Livia King, Saska Ingham and Natasha Killam all entertained their audience with confident singing and delightful musicality and Catherine Okey gave a flute solo which demonstrated her virtuosic playing in a breathtaking performance of the first movement of Eldin Burton's Sonatina.

The evening began with songs by Elgar and concluded fittingly, as Jenny Lind was known as The Swedish Nightingale, with A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square, before the singers of both ensembles together delivered Steal Away as a much appreciated encore.

This concert was promoted by Malvern Civic Society as part of Civic Week and brought their wonderful range of events to a close. We were thrilled to be able to host this evening which brought two groups of sublime singers together for a most memorable occasion.

Our next concert takes place on Sunday, September 20 at 3pm when we look forward to the rare opportunity of hearing a viola quartet perform in the lovely setting of St Gregory's.

SARAH MUSGRAVE