Was it the magic of The Beatles on the billing that brought music lovers flocking or was it the names of the great composers from the earlier eras of baroque and romantic classical that had Christ Church in Warwick packed to the rafters for this Bermuda School of Music presentation on Saturday evening?

It was hard to tell, although the master of ceremonies lamented printing 'only' 150 programmes and jokingly hinted the next concert might be promoted as "From Rachmaninoff to The Rolling Stones''.

In the cosy church confines three musicians from the Bermuda School of Music had gathered, led by pianist Oliver Brugada Grant (pictured, above).

Grant was joined by violinist Lisa Hollis for a pleasant opening suite of two J.S. Bach compositions, the second of which Concerto in A Minor, flowed smoother and the piano blending far better with Hollis' unamplified violin. Hollis then took a bow as classical guitarist Stephen Crawford arrived and kept the baroque theme going by running through Vivaldi's Concerto in D Major accompanied by Grant.

One problem the musicians faced when they played together was finding the correct balance between the instruments.

Ranged next to Crawford's classical guitar, Grant's piano (and Hollis' violin) were at times in danger of drowning out the quieter string instrument, a situation not helped by the piano also being on a higher stage than the two other instrumentalists and therefore having the greater projection. To Grant's credit he lightened his touch on the keys allowing Scotsman Crawford's stylistic and almost Medieval sounding fingerwork to chime through.

Hollis returned to complete the trio and it was time to turn back the clock to the 1960s with 11 songs from The Beatles, including two George Harrison compositions.

So fine are Harrison's original versions that it leaves a big 'ask' for any musician attempting to cover them. Here, as previously noted, Crawford's guitar was mostly drowned by the accompanying violin and piano. When he did break through the non-electrified notes of the Harrison classic sounded washed out.

A far better rendition came with 'Across The Universe', where the piano and violin parts truly augmented Crawford's now richer sounding fretwork. The trio appeared to relax and enjoy the journey down memory lane the further they travelled – as did the audience.

Hearing 'Eleanor Rigby' played in a church setting added a poignant touch. On this, and the later 'Here Comes The Sun', the song tempo in places was a little too hurried. However, there was no fault with 'Here, There and Everywhere' (splendid instrument separation), the whimsical 'Michelle' or the brilliant rendition of 'In My Life' which provided a great showcase for Grant and Crawford.

At the start of the evening the audience had been requested not to sing along to The Beatles' tunes no matter how well they knew the words. The one exception was to be the closing piece of the first half of the night, the tour de force of 'Hey Jude'.

Hollis' violin decorated the finale beautifully as the song built upwards and increasingly allowed – as The Beatles' surely intended – a freeing of the musicians' constraints and an opportunity to add an unscripted flourish of musical passion while staying within the rhythm. The audience became a collective 'fourth' instrumentalist as feet tapped and humming commenced. Now the Bermuda School of Music trio loosened up fully and delivered the liveliest moment of the night, with Grant in particular giving full expression on the piano keyboard.

The audience gave a well-deserved standing ovation to the players. After the intermission the show became a solo endeavour with Grant taking centre stage on piano. To keep the church ventilated the main doors on three sides were left open to the cool evening. As the sound of an outdoor frog chorus came in it seemed a cue for another well-known McCartney tune, but instead the show turned to the era of romantic composers with Brahms, Liszt, and Debussy amongst those featured.

At times Grant created an ethereal atmosphere, tinkling musical waterfalls hanging in mid-air one moment and grandiose anger pummeling through the ebony and ivory keys the next. In the midst of it all were two interesting pieces by Spanish composers Granados and Falla, the second played with delightful fun and energy.

As Grant struck up the final piece, Bach-Busoni's Chacconne in D Minor, and with the whistling tree frogs adding to the background sound inside the church, I exited through one of the open doors to sample how the church concert was impacting on the immediate surroundings. Under an almost full moon it seemed magically surreal. The church appeared like a picture postcard with warm lights peeking out from the half-closed shutters and music drifting from the open doors to skip away into the starry night sky. As he finished Grant received a standing ovation – his second of the night.