What a fantastic day Saturday 8 December was in Braidwood! The joint was jumping with another successful Makers Market at the National Theatre and to top it off, Maddie Anderson and her Canberra School of Music colleagues provided an inspiring two-hour, afternoon concert of classical voice at St Andrews Anglican Church. The program included 18 vocal works with a selection of arias, lieder and some comic ditties. These three singers performed last October and in the year since then their voices, confidence and professional delivery have grown immensely. There were some real highlights that revealed the singers' range: Jessica Harper's performance of the aria from Gournod's Romeo and Juliette, 'Je veux vivre' was utterly beguiling; Joshua Burke's sung impression of Banjo Patterson's famous poem 'Clancy of the Overflow' was captivating and Maddie Anderson's closing with 'Rejoice Greatly' from Handel's Messiah was a superbly timed acknowledgement of the coming Christmas celebrations. The joy, delight and the privilege of watching these budding young performers, was palpable. For a very modest ticket price, concert goers enjoyed not only excellent performances but also afternoon tea with home-made biscuits and slices. An invitation, through Maddie, was extended to other young performers from the Canberra School of Music, to contact St Andrews and make use its beautiful space and acoustics for rehearsals, recordings and more concerts. We'll keep you posted of further events.  In the meantime, for the musically inclined, please join us at St Andrews on Sunday 16 December at 7pm for the traditional, candle-lit Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols with the Braidwood Cantors. Plenty of carol singing and kids are very welcome.