*** Taking a pause for breath that lasted about a decade longer than perhaps originally intended, the BMDS choir finally took centre stage again for a one-evening only concert on Saturday night. It is all part of the 50th anniversary being celebrated by BMDS this year -- an important event in Bermuda's cultural life -- and an opportunity for the Society to remind the public that it was the formation of BMDS which did so much to ignite that spark of interest in the performing arts which is now blazing, as never before, throughout the entire community.

In the early years, music tended to dominate the activities of BMDS, rather than the drama with which it is more closely associated today. To some extent, this evolved naturally, as the Philharmonic Society and other groups proliferated and standards improved. After the acquisition of Daylesford Theatre, the musical side of things seemed to steadily decline within BMDS ranks until the last couple of years.

Part of the reason for this present renaissance was signalled by two auspicious events. One of these was the Society's 1993 production of `Broadway Masters', a revue of modern musicals, and the other was last year's first-ever original musical, `Joan of Arc' by Warren Cabral and James Burn. Both had Gaynor Gallant as musical director. With her strong musical background and commitment, the musical tide has obviously turned.

Still modestly numbered at 20 singers, the group, which has been preparing for this event since September, has adopted the name of The Daylesford Singers.

Under conductor Gaynor Gallant, they came up with an evening of pleasant, if mostly undemanding music which was always well rehearsed, combining a unified sound and excellent diction throughout. The concert was produced by the indefatigable Marjorie Stanton.

Variety was certainly in abundance, with a repertoire ranging from Mancini's `Moon River', and `I Write the Songs' to that predictably send 'em home happy stand-by, `Down By the Riverside'. In between there were some outstanding numbers, notably a beautifully sung a capella version of `L'il Liza Jane' and the lovely `Blow, blow thou Winter Wind' from Shakespeare's `As You Like It'.

Another novelty, again meticulously rehearsed, was the tongue-twisting `Geographical Fugue', devised by Ernest Toch for Speaking Chorus.

Another highlight was the humorous Three Hungarian Folksongs, spirited and crisp in its delivery.

Augmenting the Daylesford Group was the a capella group, Consorted Effort, founded three years ago by Jon Borrill and, since he has left Bermuda, now run by Linde Morgan. Concentrating on popular music in the King's Singers style, the six-voice group have appeared at functions all over the Island.

With two or three new members, the group coped remarkably well with a selection of light-hearted fare, including such favourites as `Thank you for the Music', `California Dreaming' and `Monday Morning'. Their comic rendition of `Short People' drew some vociferous applause, as did `The Peanut Vendor' and `Good Vibrations'.

Local soprano Deborah Raat, who was making her debut as a soloist in this concert, chose Scarlatti's `Sento nel Core', which is two arias separated by a recitative. The possessor of a pure tone and fine sense of timing, Ms Raat gave an impressive account of this rather difficult piece. There was a feeling that despite the strength of her delivery, there is a still more powerful voice there; it will be interesting to see how this new talent develops.

The other solo spot was given over to John Rutter's charming suite for solo flute, `Suite Antique'. Nancy Smith, who is presently studying for her LRSM in this instrument, coped well with the rhythmic and stylistic progressions of this six-segment piece that ranged from the lyricism of the Aria, a lilting Waltz theme to a brilliant closing Rondeau.

This informal evening, interwoven with chatty asides and snippets of information from Ms Gallant, was an obvious hit with the audience. An appeal for extra members would suggest that The Daylesford Singers will be adding yet another, hopefully permanent, facet to our 50-year old premier theatre group.

PATRICIA CALNAN