On Monday night The Abbey School brass ensemble were ‘revealed’ as the surprise act behind door number nine of the Henley Living Advent Calendar. The calendar is based on an original idea from Stockholm, all to raise money for local charities. Like a children’s advent calendar, a different door is ‘opened’ each night and a performance is given to the assembled audience. Performers are kept secret until the night and, despite the cold temperatures, it was wonderful to see the warm welcome given to our musicians.

Each night of the calendar is at a different location across the town and we were delighted to be performing at The Relais Hotel. While the crowd enjoyed mulled wine, hot chocolate and Christmas tree brownies, our talented brass ensemble performed Christmas classics from O Come All Ye Faithful to Once in Royal David’s City. They created a truly joyful, festive, atmosphere and the ensemble ended to a huge round of applause. It was a pleasure for The Abbey to support such a wonderful event which raised over £10,000 for charity last year.

“On Monday, the brass ensemble performed at the Relais Hotel as part of the Living Advent Calendar event to spread some festive cheer to the community. We played a variety of Christmas carols, including Deck the halls, The First Nowell, and the amazing performance of O Little Town of Bethlehem. The audience was incredibly supportive, and it was lovely to see families and friends gathered to enjoy the music. The atmosphere was magical, with the hotel beautifully decorated for the season, adding to the festive spirit. A special thank you to Mr Speed, Ms Bilkey, Mr Terry, Mrs Wootton and Mrs Bushrod for organising the event and giving us this opportunity to share our music with others.”

Gianna, Upper IV