Concert of Hope
A report by our Oblate Maud Felicity
Preparations for the Concert of Hope, in aid of the local Ukrainian community, had been growing to a crescendo in the days before the event on Sunday 27th November. Minster Abbey had been “alive with the sound of music” in the many rehearsals for “Doe, a deer, a female deer.” St Mary’s Church had been making the church look beautiful with its newly decorated Christmas tree. The Ukrainian family had been baking wonderful cakes for the event. And, impressively, Jacob Bride had been composing his Rhapsody on Ukrainian Folk Songs.
The Salvation Army band got us off to a vibrant start with their “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” and “March down the street”. Captain Luke, delighted us with a story about naughty boys hiding from their pranks whenever the Salvation Army arrived with their brass instruments and disturbed them! The humour continued with the Abbey’s “Doe, a deer, a female deer”, the story of the tonic sol-fa related with wit and pace. The level of audience participation in the chorus showed a huge amount of good will.