A MUSICAL- themed concert for children of all ages, complete with a chorus in Italian and solos from young performers, amazed parents last weekend.

Members of the Children’s International Voices of Enfield, which encompasses four choirs for different ages from four upwards, gave unflappable performances at the Music from the Shows concert in the URC Church in Fox Lane, Palmers Green on Sunday.

The younger voices choir, for children aged four to eight, sang four songs about the seaside by Peter Canwell, while four choristers led the choir and then the audience in performing a series of actions to a humorous song called My Aunt Came Back.

Children from the age of eight were given the chance to sing a song from any musical, which included Carousel, My Fair Lady and the Sound of Music.

The afternoon, which lasted three hours with an interval, finished with a full-company rendition of songs from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Gondoliers, much of which was in Italian, and was sung as a traditional choral arrangement of Soprano, Alto Tenor and Bass.

This was only possible because many children who joined the choir when they were young have stayed on as teenagers and into their early twenties.

The choir’s founder and director, Dr June Keyte MBE said: “There was a beautiful duet for girls voices, sang by about 35 children, which was magical. David Thompson and Edmund Jeffery, aged 16 and 17, who performed the parts of the two gondoliers sang the tenor and bass parts.

“I don’t think the parents could believe it they sang right from the score, and I didn’t think the children would be able to sing from full scores. There was a lovely quality because there was a balance between light sweet voices and some quite mature ones.”

Other highlights included Grade 7 7-year-old pianist Daven Mitchinson who accompanied both a flute and violin solo without a single mistake.

There was also a solo from a 13-year-old saxophone player who has been learning the instrument only for a year.

Dr Keyte said she allowed instrumental pieces to be performed because she wanted to encourage performers on all instruments. She said: “They were just wonderful. Nobody stopped nobody broke down, they all just went up one after the other.”

Unusual British folksongs were also featured on the programme, arranged by Ian Humphris especially for the choir.

The choir plans to hold a recital in the autumn and will have a Christmas concert on December 6, performing and English translation of Welsh musical A New star, by Gareth Glyn.

Dr Keyte now hopes to be able to invite long-term members who have gone on to get degrees in music to hold Sunday singing workshops. Sarah King and Joe Thompson, both 21, both graduated with a 2:1 in music from Birmingham University, and may be appointed as music staff if the choir can secure funding to do so.

If you would like to become a member of the choir, which does not hold auditions, call Dr Keyte on 0208 882 7404. The choirs meet at different times on Sunday afternoon at the United Reform Church, Fox Lane, Palmers Green, with the young voices meeting at 1pm.