The Sinfonietta were in particularly good form for the first concert of their Festival of British Music (presented with support from Arts Council England and St.Helens Council).We were offered a delightfully varied programme of short orchestral works ranging from the 17th century (Purcell) to the 21st (Forshaw), and from the very well-known to some music that few of us had heard before.

We've heard very enthusiastic reviews of the recent lunchtime recital by Becky Hughes accompanied by Dorothy Parr. We hope they'll be encouraged to play again soon in St Helens.

The featured artist in the St. Helens Sinfonietta’s Lunchtime Recital series on 7th April was saxophonist Becky Hughes, whose performance of Debussy’s unaccompanied Syrinx floated down unexpectedly from the gallery to begin the proceedings. Some ear-stretching stuff followed, notably a Divertimento for saxophone and piano by Roger Boutry and the inimitable, brief and perfect Five exotic Dances by Jean Françaix, with their throw-away endings requiring split-second co-ordination between the performers. A remarkable contribution to our delight was made by the pianist Dorothy Parr, who stood in at short notice, and had such superb control of some very demanding accompaniments that she was serenely free to make eye contact with Becky whenever needed.