Norfolk Camerata marked the start of Advent with a free concert of carols and seasonal songs in St Nicholas’s Church, North Walsham, on 1st December 2018. The programme included familiar Advent pieces such as ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’ and Bach’s ‘Wachet Auf’ as well as less well known items by composers including Orlando Gibbons and Joseph Fux.

Shortly before Christmas the Camerata spent a very happy afternoon at Barrington Farm near Walcott, providing entertainment for the Christmas party. Barrington Farm is a day centre for adults with learning difficulties and a wonderfully friendly and creative place it is too. About a dozen members of the Camerata donned their Christmas hats and gathered to sing carols under the baton of choir member Ros Peedle. A very enthusiastic audience joined in with the well-known numbers and the choir agreed it was one of the happiest and most appreciative receptions they had ever experienced. After tea and mince pies, both singers and centre staff promised to repeat the event next year and hoped to arrange a summer visit by the Camerata as well.