Residents at Westmeath were treated to an impromptu Christmas concert by sisters Natalia and Alejandra Tafur.

The budding violinists, aged 8 and 6 respectively, had busked to raise money for the Bermuda School of Music when they were inspired to bring the show to the neighbouring retirement home.

Their mother, Sarah Tafur, told The Royal Gazette: “I found them at the end of our driveway with their violin cases playing for nobody down there, pretending to busk.

“They had a bag they had put together — lots of nice stuffed animals — that they were going to take down to Westmeath.

“I said, ‘I don’t know if you can just walk in there and do that,’ but they were insistent.”

The BHS students, from Pembroke, then hopped on their scooters with their trusted violins.

“They went in very bravely,” Mrs Tafur said. “Natalia told them what they were going to play and when they started playing the residents loved it so much. They were all singing and asking them to play more.”

Their repertoire included familiar festive songs such as Jingle Bells and Old St Nick — Alejandra’s favourites — but when John, a familiar face, requested some church music, they were happy to improvise.

He said, can you play Hold My Hand?

Natalia said she would try and he said: “Just fill in the blanks.”

“When he started singing she made up music to go along with it. It was very sweet,” Mrs Tafur said.

“Then they packed up and gave their toys away to anyone who wanted them. They loved it.

“They came away thinking it was so much fun.

“Just the way people responded to it was so lovely. I was completely in shock.”

Natalia said the pair had been planning it for some time.

She said: “I just thought it would be nice to do it that day, since we were playing our violins.

“I thought they would enjoy it, so I thought maybe we could go there.”

Natalia has performed regularly with her school choir and has been playing the violin for four years, Alejandra for two.

The pair said they would like to continue bringing music to Westmeath during other popular holidays.