Henley Symphony Orchestra open Living Advent Calendar

MEMBERS of the Henley Symphony Orchestra performed on the opening night of this year’s Living Advent Calendar.

They performed a string of festive classics on the steps of the town hall last night (Friday) as the annual Christmas Festival was in full swing.

Richard Rodway , who chairs the calendar, led a countdown from three before the group emerged from the town hall.

They performed Winter Wonderland and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas along with the themes from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, animation Wallace and Gromit and La Bamba.

The evening raised more than £400 for the Henley and Peppard branch of the Royal British Legion, the chosen charity for the night.

The event involves 24 half-hour performances by singers, dancers and other acts at 6.15pm each evening until Christmas Eve.

The identity of each performer is kept secret until they actually appear, just like opening the door of an advent calendar.

All but the final night will have a dedicated charity, which will be able to publicise its work and hold a bucket collection.

The proceeds from the Christmas Eve performance will go to Henley Mayor Kellie Hinton’s chosen good causes for her year in office.

Mr Rodway, a partner at the Head Partnership solicitors in Henley, said he was pleased with the first night.

“It’s a new act to the event which is always good,” he said.

“I think everybody had a good time, we raised a lot of money for the charity, and hopefully there’s some enthusiasm for the rest of the programme now.”

Tonight’s performance (Saturday) will be held at Leander Club.

For a full round-up of the Living Advent Calendar so far, see next week’s Henley Standard.