Joy To The World, A Christmas Programme, was presented at St John's Church, Pembroke, last Sunday evening.

This was the eighth annual presentation by The St. John's Youth Choir and it was marked by the order, precision and punctuality that one has come to expect from them and their director, Marjorie Pettit.

With the support of William Duncan on the organ, and Andrea Hodson on piano, Mrs. Pettit led a group of elite chamber players through her own interesting arrangements. These she created specially for the youth choir who sang them with evident joy. Furthermore, the audience got several chances to join in the programme with some tried and true Christmas favourites.

These were thoughtful selections providing a mix of the classic, the familiar and the novel. There were two very challenging baroque selections, two marvels by John Rutter, two Benjamin Britten works, and two choices of Willock's arrangements.

The evening began with Zoe Brady and Jordan Robbins singing Hodie Christus Natus Est, and was followed by a timorous quartet, Victoria Allison, Ebony Clarke, Phoebe Dill, and Kathleen McBeath. Timorous they started, but grew in confidence before the congregation joined in with the remainder of Once in Royal David's City.

Four selections by the choir followed, the outstanding ones for me being the Carol of the Children, and the Shepherd's Pipe Carol, with its rolling syncopation, which the choir sang to perfection. The arrangements of both were perfectly conceived to enhance the meaning of the words, and the ensemble, especially flautists Nancy Smith and Antoinette Davis were superb. So too was Conrad Roach on trumpet.

One of the two baroque pieces to which I referred earlier was next: He Knows the Time is of Joy coming.

It is a duet that was rendered by a sextet of singers. It was very challenging and the girls did very well to make their complicated entries, and to stay tuneful; there was no mistaking the effort.

The choir sang 'Vois Sur Ton Chemin', from Les Choristes. This work, made into a film, deals with the power of music to effect positive changes in the lives of troubled children. It was followed by 'When Children Rule The World', by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It seemed that even the sequencing of the titles was meaningful, especially when you know that these two were followed by 'Away in A Manger'. Soloist Claire Guffey conquered her nerves and stayed tuneful.

Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride followed. The children sang with evident joy. This is not as easy a piece as it might appear. There are awkward intervallic leaps, and at a fast tempo it can be a challenge; this seemed not to bother the youngsters in the least. A nice arrangement; though I was hoping to hear Conrad Roach do the horse's whinny on the trumpet.

What we did hear after the interval was a sprightly arrangement of Patsy Ford's 'Hush Hear The Angels Sing', that featured the trumpet doing a jazzy smear with the plunger, and the children catching the spirit with a gospel-like portamento on the word 'Hush'.

Talented Francesca Dill sang with passion and warmth, and with her eyes closed. The resulting hiccup at the very end hardly took away from a pleasing performance at all.

Other soloists, Adrienne Miller and Jenna Kessaram sang very well indeed. There was good part singing in 'Balulalow,' and Adrienne's very high soprano voice shone out clearly, and tunefully. In 'Walking In The Air', Miss Kessaram displayed fine musicianship, negotiating changes in tonality and range with aplomb. She's one to watch. The arrangements were all fine, but this one especially so.

Then, after Blake's 'Make Believe', we heard an adaptation of 'The Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's Messiah. Again, like in the Bach, the effort was commendable, the children giving their all. Their rendition brought the audience to their feet. Willock's arrangement of 'O Come All Ye Faithful', orchestrated by Mrs. Pettit, was sung lustily by the full church.

Just when we thought that things couldn't have ended better, they did; Santa appeared, and did a modern jig, before handing out sweets from his basket.

I mentioned an elite corps of musicians. Besides Mr. Duncan and Ms. Hodson, they were: Kate Ross, leader, violin, Nancy Smith and Antoinette Davis, flutes, Lisa Maule, clarinet, Mr. Roach, trumpet, Brian Swan, double bass, and Peter Profit, percussion. Well played all.