Zoë Beyers on the solo violin accompanied by the BSO, gave an accomplished performance of Fantasy on Porgy and Bess; a medley of songs including Summertime and It Ain’t Ncessarily So, from Gershwin’s folk opera. This was swiftly followed by hits from Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun with Siobhan FitzPatrick and Martin Webb letting us know that Anything You Can Do they can do better. The first half culminated with an animated performance of There’s No Business Like Show Business sending us singing to the bar for some much needed refreshment.

The performance only seemed to get better in the second half with four songs from Guys and Dolls (Recently re-opened in London to critical acclaim starring Ewan McGregor). Of particular note was Luck be a lady tonight, BSO showing us that they can really swing! (Perhaps courtesy of some additional reinforcements in the way of saxophones).

BSO briefly took us to the plains of America with the Theme from the Big Country, after which BATs gave us a treat with a selection of songs from the much-loved Oklahoma. A fabulous show drew to a close with A Grand Night for Singing, which by all accounts the evening certainly was.All in all this was a splendid event, thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. This really was a non-stop musical extravaganza, where we hardly had time to catch our breath between pieces (twenty in total!)

This was a challenging concert, with so many pieces encompassing a gamut of musical styles that both societies pulled off with style. BATs, once again, demonstrating their great depth and breath of talent, and BSO showing their versatility and flexibility. We can only hope that this is just the beginning of the collaboration between these two Basingstoke societies.