Jonathan Delbridge graced Salcombe with his musical talent with ‘A Musical Celebration of England’ showcasing some of the greats.

The Holy Trinity Church welcomed the renowned musician, accompanist and choir director for the sixth Ken Reed Concert, bringing classical music fans from across Salcombe.

Jonathan has gained a brilliant reputation for his exciting and varied concert programmes on both the piano and the organ. His versatile talent allows him to perform major classical works, jazz standards and his own improvisations, most of which he performed without his sheet music.

The Royal Albert Hall musician is in high demand working as an accompanist with leading professionals including virtuoso trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins, bass Arwell Huw Morgan and clarinettist/saxophonist David White.

The evening started with a greatly appreciated glass of bubbly and canapés before the performance commenced.

Despite not reaching full capacity, before long the majority of chairs were filled with avid fans of this classical genre, who waited patiently for Jonathan to appear.

After the well known introduction piece, the Dambusters March by Coates, Jonathan came down to introduce himself to the audience and explain the structure of his performance.

He explained why he’d chosen each piece of music, when it was composed and some interesting details about who had composed the piece; allowing the audience to fully relax and enjoy the evening.

The use of a variety of well known and lesser known pieces was a clever artistic choice, leaving the audience content and intrigued by new pieces that many wouldn’t have been familiar with. The decision was made to highlight some of the lesser known talent that Jonathan believed was worthy of more attention.

Both parts of the concert consisted of organ and piano pieces from a variety of composers including Purcell, Stanley, Elgar and Ireland, a personal favourite from the night.

The different pieces enraptured the audience into silence and awe at the passion and ease at which Jonathan played the compositions, until the final set piece. Pomp and Circumstance March brought the audience out of their trance, singing along to the piece, which Jonathan encouraged, with many waving their programmes in a patriotic flare.

After which, Jonathan performed a greatly appreciated encore of jazz that had been previously requested by an audience member to close the evening.

Jonathan exited to the sound of vigorous applause reflecting the impressive and moving performance he put on for Salcombe.

The evening was organised by The Friends of Holy Trinity Church Salcombe, a registered charity that raises funds to maintain the fabric of the church.

A number of years ago the church was renovated by the inspiration of Ken Reed with the large glass screens that give the building a feeling of light and space without disrupting the acoustic.

Ken had always envisaged the church being used for all sorts of music which is why the annual concerts try to incorporate a variety of genres from classical, jazz, gospel and male choirs.

A concert is planned at Holy Trinity for next year on Saturday, October 20, which if this year is anything to go by, will be a triumphant display of musical talent.