O Duo, Christ Church, Skipton For any audience member expecting a reverential presentation of a classical concert, this must have required a violent gear-change.

O Duo began by dancing on to play their own composition Bongo Fury. It was a tour de force of bongo playing.

Having enraptured an audience of more than 200 children in the afternoon, they worked their magic on their adult audience with humour, musical skill, clever presentation and boundless energy.

Basic instrumentation was achieved with marimbas, vibraphone and glockenspiel.

Owen Gunnell and Oliver Cox not only compose and play but have to be scene shifters, rearranging the battery of instruments for each item. They avoid awkward gaps by one reallocating the instruments while the other talks about the music and percussion in general.

Both projected well and injected splendid humour but above all radiated infectious enthusiasm for their instruments.

Another departure from the “norm”’ was to call for three volunteers to augment their duo for an arrangement of Take Five. Three ladies took the stage and were complimented on their performance. It was good to hear some jazz extemporisation, which is not an easy undertaking with five-beat bars.

One of the most beautiful pieces, Searching, was composed by the duo. Not only did they maximise the instrumental colours but they utilised the “process” technique to the best of effects to construct a nice arch form, avoiding the pitfalls of endless repetition.

Adrienne Fox Langcliffe Singers: Requiem Giggleswick School Chapel The singers, commemorating the nine million combatants who died in the First World War, focused on two modern requiems. But the aim was to celebrate, rather than mourn, the memory of the lost.

Henry Walfod Davies’s arrangement of Psalm 121 opened the evening, demonstrating hope and beauty. The opening solo by soprano Sheila Hartley was striking and complemented well by Phil Simnett’s rich baritone. This was particularly moving and the choir should be complimented on their clarity.

The Psalm Prelude featured a fine organ performance by Edward Rugman. The silence at the end was an exhaling of breath after intense emotion.

The unusual combination of cello and organ in Saint-Saens’ Priere provided the next item and was an excellent example of music’s ability to transport you to another time and place. Once again the solo playing was of an extremely high standard, an excellent performance by Robert Buller, principal cellist with Settle Orchestra.

The Aria from John Rutter’s Suite Antique, which showcased talented Settle Orchestra flautist Sarah Glossop, was particularly evocative.

The second half brought all the elements of the first together in an uplifting performance of John Rutter’s Requiem, a powerful piece with wonderful melodies and cleverly created harmonies. Congratulations to all on a performance that sparkled with light.

Gill O’Donnell SAOS Junior Theatre’s Bugsy Malone Victoria Hall, Sette I’ve always enjoyed watching Bugsy Malone. Since the film was released in 1976, I’ve seen countless rehearsals and three different performances, all very enjoyable.

But this Bugsy tops the lot. Settle Amateur Operatic Society Junior Theatre Group were wonderful. I can’t remember any other being as funny, vibrant, well acted or sung.

The story, based loosely on the Prohibition era, opens in Fat Sam’s Grand Slam Speakeasy. Main events centre around Sam’s (Jake Thatham) battle with rival gangster Dandy Dan (Andrew Lord). Jake portrayed the angry hoodlum well and Andrew was the suave, sophisticated gangster.

He even had his own cello-playing standard lamp, Linda Middleton playing beautifully despite her lampshade headgear.

Bugsy Malone (Max Orrell) and Blousy Brown (Molly Summersgill-Smith) played out their romance with conviction and performed their songs equally well.

Musical highlights included outstanding solos from Grace Currie, Gabriel Williams and Ellie Humberstone.

The singers, dancers, boxers and hoodlums did a great job, making it a night to remember for them, the production team and the audience.

Helen Jarvis