Christ Church Cathedral served up a gem of a lunchtime free concert last week with the Mona Shores String Orchestra under the direction of Tim Staudacher.
This American school band hails from Michigan on the Great Lakes and they gave a lovely and lively version of the Irish National Anthem to begin and linked that into a stirring American Anthem.
There was no programme and a few classical airs opened the proceedings. An uncredited solo guitar and solo violin shared intros into a beautiful Ashokan Farewell and a Lullaby was equally beautiful with three bass fiddles giving excellent support.
In Scenes From the Emerald Isle and She Moves Through The Fair was rich and haunting and a tune known as Gra Geal Mo Chroi or Thank God We’re Surrounded By Water was of a high quality.
The standing ovation did not prompt the orchestra to continue which was indeed a pity. A mostly tourist audience had a fine interlude and a smashing musical memory.
