The Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra arrived at Folly Farm on Saturday with great expectations to live up to: their concert in Cardiff the previous month received a tumultuous welcome. In the event, they did not disappoint! At the end of the concert, the orchestra received a standing ovation for what everyone there considered to be their best performance ever.

Michael Bell introduced a programme of 10 overtures selected by friends of the orchestra which provided a selection of musical treats to suit every taste. The concert started with Shostakovich’s bright and cheerful Festive Overture, which contrasted with the more sombre mood of Beethoven’s Egmont overture which followed, and Mozart’s enigmatic overture to the Magic Flute with its repeated Masonic themes.

The first half of the concert ended with a dramatically charged performance of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliette Fantasy Overture.

The second half started with a jolly romp through Rossini’s William Tell overture, followed by Sibelius’s more expansive Karelia overture where the orchestra brought out the real depth of feelings in the music.

We then sailed majestically through Mendelssohn’s Hebrides overture, before enjoying the dramatic bravado of Bizet’s overture to Carmen and Bernstein’s overture to West Side Story, where we positively danced through the selection of well-known themes from the opera.

The performance ended with a bang with Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular 1812 overture... and a standing ovation from the entire audience.

The concert raised well over £5,000 for the Pembrokeshire Siblings Group and Rotary charities and in so doing, a thrilling evening of overtures has made a significant and worthwhile contribution to our local community.

The Rotary Club of Pembroke would like to thank Valero for sponsoring this concert. It could not take place without their unstinting generosity and we would all be the poorer for it. We would also like to thank Folly Farm for providing their wonderful venue free of charge and for their help with the organisation and staging of the concert.

A.J.