THIS splendid concert was given by the Alauda String Quartet, junior fellows of the Royal Academy of Music, and Bilancia Wind Quintet, comprising post-graduate students at the Royal Northern College of Music, augmented by Alistair McMath, a double bass player also at the RNCM, and baritone David Wood.

Brought together for the summer concert series and school workshops by Xenophon Kelsey, they delivered in various combinations a sparkling programme of 20th century music likely to be mostly unfamiliar to the enthusiastic – but regrettably small – audience.

The opening movement of Jean Francais’ dectet showcased the string players’ warm tone, impeccable ensemble between strings and wind, and the ability of the players to move between gentle, relaxed sounds and powerful climaxes.

A piece of early Webern for strings displayed the composer’s lyrical, romantic beginnings; ranging from music of the utmost delicacy to sumptuous Mahlerian ecstasy and notable for beautiful viola playing by Rhoslyn Lawton.

To end the first half, Wood sang Edward German’s settings of Kipling’s Just So poems in an arrangement by Kelsey. German wrote pleasant salon music, here performed energetically with witty instrumentation.

Wood has a pleasant light baritone and developed good rapport with the audience, though the church acoustic is friendlier to instruments than voices.

The second half began with two movements from Hindemith’s Kammermusik, played crisply and with character; Leanne Emery’s delightful oboe playing stood out.

The finale was Richard Shephard’s The Musicians of Bremen. This setting of a Grimm fairy tale for narrator and instruments was again arranged by (guesting on percussion for this piece); the expressive narrator was Jane Lomax, the VaCO orchestra manager.

Modelled loosely on the format of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and including pastiches of composers such as Puccini, Mozart and Richard Strauss, as well as an occasional singalong for the audience, this made for a terrific climax.

Andrew Bennett