When compere David Hawkes (Curtin FM) asked if there were any ten
pound poms in the audience it seemed like half the crowd raised their hands,
which gives you an indication of the average age. Several audience members had
attended all 21 of the last-night-at-the-proms-styled concerts.
The hugely successful tradition is the brainchild of conductor
and entrepreneur John Christmass who pulled out all the stops for the last
concert. Guest soloists included the Alasdair Kent with his shining tenor voice,
Mark Alderson with his flair for the dramatic, the sweet-voiced soprano
Alexandra Bak, the polished tenor Matthew Reardon, pure-voiced Josephine
Christmass, limber David Grace and the entertaining Justin Friend. David Grace
also took to the stage with his ukulele for some George Formby favourites and
David Murray joined the orchestra on bagpipes for two Scottish numbers.
The New I Voci Singers sparkled in several choral solos and
the Perth Pops Orchestra under conductor Jessica Gethin were diligent
accompanists across a wide range of repertoire, coming most alive in a Beatles
tribute medley.
As 10:30pm came and
went I was the only one thinking about dressing gown and slippers - the old
time rockers in the audience were only just warming up. But as streamers and
balloons floated down and the British nostalgia took over I found myself waving
a Union Jack flag furiously. A fitting tribute was paid to the remarkable
octogenarian John Christmass whose closing words were, “If you think I’m done
you’re wrong”. Christmass is moving on to new projects but hinted that other
organisers were keen to continue the Best of British tradition. It felt like an
important part of Perth’s music history had been honoured.
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