Slovak Radio Hall Concert

Our final concert, in the iconic Slovak Radio Hall, was an absolute triumph! We have said how well the groups have performed throughout the tour and they continued their high standards right to the very end in front of a packed hall of enthusiastic Bratislavans and a 'UK VIP Section'!

This concert was part of a festival of music going on in Bratislava and was also part of a celebration of remembrance of the end of WW2, so there were speeches and poems from local dignitaries alongside the music.

And what music we heard!

From the first notes of Force of Destiny to the last chord of Vltava, CYO has been a joy to listen to under the baton of Richard Roper and they excelled again last night, simply brilliant!  CYCh are one of the foremost youth choirs in the UK and last night, under the direction of Beth Hodgson, they demonstrated why once more with a performance that was truly amazing: Sure on this Shining Night, Cantate Domino and two movements from Mass in Blue were all stunning.

After the interval we had the speeches and poems and then requested music of Nimrod (CYO) and Amazing Grace (CYCh) before a final and emotional piece (sung through tears in some cases) of Underneath The Stars that really had everybody choked up and brought CYCh's fabulous 2017/18 journey to close. And finally Tim Green, jet-setting conductor that he is, took to the stage to conduct Shostakovich's 9th Symphony and a quick encore (played through tears in some cases) of music from the Cowboys that concluded CYO's musical journey for this year.

The standing ovations for both groups were utterly deserved; it was a superb concert and it has been an absolute pleasure listening to these gifted musicians perform on their Czech Republic and Slovakia tour.  They have been a joy to work with and a delight to be around and they deserve a huge amount of praise and credit; they are the perfect ambassadors, well done!Read more