WARNERS BAY THEATRE
The audience responded well with acclamation to the opening number, The Christmas Feeling, composed specifically to engender joy. Let it Snow was next (cool!), followed by Mary’s Boy Child, a lively 1956 composition made popular by the vocal group Boney M. The upbeat arrangement by David Ayma of Kings of Orient kept the band busy, while Silent Night presented a change in tempo for the band and audience. Carol of the Bells, a Ukrainian song written in 1916, saw the brass instruments mimicking the sound of ringing bells, sounding a message of merriment. The traditional English Carol, the First Noel, was just a “little different” in the arrangement by Stephen Tighe of The First Noel-A Christmas Cracker. Starting with a carillon effect from the cornet section, this continued as the whole band joined in, after which the piece developed into a fast, lively rock style before returning to the grand finale in the original style. The audience seemed mildly surprised, although generous in their applause. The Little Drummer Boy was well-received, as was the very gentle Maori lullaby, Hine e Hine. The first half concluded in traditional brass band style with the Julius Fucik Florentine March.
Leroy Anderson’s A Christmas Festival presented a medley of Christmas Tunes to open the second half of the Concert. Murray Hetherington then featured on flugel horn in the delightful O Holy Night, which was followed by the March, Christmas Joy. First recorded by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards in September 1950, Silver Bells was a welcome inclusion. The Johnny Mathis No1 hit on the UK Singles Chart, When A Child is Born, released in December 1976 followed, leading to the audience being invited to sing-a-long (lyrics provided) to the John Lennon/Yoko Ono hit Happy Christmas (War is Over). The audience responded and received acclamation from Conductor Luke Bradbery. The highlight to complete the second half was the widely acclaimed and well known Advent composition, written by Eric Ball in 1962, the Tone Poem The Kingdom Triumphant. It was a successful conclusion, acknowledged by enthusiastic audience applause.
Before the audience departed, the band offered them a Seasons Greeting with We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
Cardiff Northlakes Brass Band acknowledges and thanks Lake Macquarie City Council for providing financial sponsorship, which assisted in staging this Concert. The music of a brass band was presented for the citizens of this City to enjoy.
Allan Shaw
Life Member
Cardiff Northlakes Brass Band
Cardiff Brass 
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