Any concert involving talented young musicians is a cause for celebration and this evening showcasing the talents of Tait Scholars and other young Australian musicians, currently studying or based in London, was indeed such a one. The programme started with the challenges of Mozart and Wagner and continued with considerable élan via Bernstein and Barber to the stimulating joys of Malcolm Williamson and Luke Styles.

The venue was the wonderful baroque church of Saint John in Smith Square, Westminster. It is a stunning building and although now an established concert hall is not always an easy environment for orchestral players. The biggest challenge for the Tait Chamber Orchestra was the platform layout which at times left conductor Jessica Cottis so far upstage that no amount of subtle, and in Cottis’ case extremely graceful, half-turning could allow her to connect with the soloists at the front of the stage. This sense of being disconnected unfortunately seemed to spread to the orchestra’s response to its conductor for, despite their synchronicity, at some points the impression was of several talented musicians playing together but not as an emotionally connected group. There could be any number of explanations for this anomaly and that it was just that, an anomaly, became clear in the second half when suddenly everybody and everything came together to produce a programme of fine musicianship and musicality.

The Mozart, which started the evening was his Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola with soloists Alex Isted, violin and Lisa Bucknell, viola. Despite the problems mentioned above the soloists acquitted themselves well, taking appropriate musical command and delighting the audience with their virtuosity. An arrangement by James Ledger for soprano and 11 instruments of Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde followed.  Katrina Sheppeard was the soprano soloist, her performance amply exhibiting the dramatic skill and vocal flexibility that have already made her a significant figure in UK opera. Unfortunately the orchestra’s struggle to achieve unity of purpose made a difficult arrangement even more challenging, however there was an outstanding performance from cello soloist Wayne Kwonn.

When the second half began, the orchestra was visibly more relaxed and focused and from the start it was clear that all was now back on track. Alexandra Hutton opened it with Glitter and be Gay from Bernstein’s Candide, exactly the right song to ensure the audience would relax and enjoy the delights ahead. Hutton entered into the song’s spirit and technical challenges with gusto, commendable imagination and a degree of subtlety, creating a comic scenario around the bubbling text and music. She was accompanied by an orchestra and conductor at one, whose support for the soloist was all one could ask. At this point I must mention the contribution of the orchestra’s Concert Master, Helen Ayres, who played the violin solo here – perfectly! But this was only a tiny part of what she gave to the evening. From first to last she focused on the leadership of the conductor and the needs of her fellow musicians – bravo.

Next came mezzo-soprano Ashlyn Tymms with Must the winter come so soon from Barber’s Vanessa. Tymms has a wonderful tone and creamy quality to her voice which was well suited to this pensive aria. Then followed How They Creep by Luke Styles. This is a fascinating piece, the result of Styles’ work on writing for voices and instruments while in residence at Glyndebourne. There was a real feeling that led by Cottis the orchestra and the singers, Hutton and Tymms, had set off together on this exploration and their unity of purpose lead to an exciting result much enjoyed by the audience.

This was followed by Malcolm Williamson’s Piano Concerto No 2 with James Guan as soloist. The programme note says Williamson described this piece as “an overtly Australian work aiming at spontaneity and vigour rather than profundity”. I certainly felt the first two of these aims were absolutely fulfilled by Guan and the orchestra but I was happy that profundity had not been entirely banished in their performance, thanks to Guan’s vital interpretation and the orchestra’s sensitive support.

Finally Jessica Cottis introduced what she called “an encore” which had been “specially requested”,  although it appeared in the programme as the final piece. It was Grainger’s Colonial Song and I shall go with the “encore” description as it sounded a bit like an afterthought for which there had been inadequate time to rehearse. This was a pity because there at the piano was the wonderful Jayson Gillham. Gillham was a Tait Awardee back in 2009 but is now of course recognised as one of this generation’s most gifted pianists and is working with major orchestras all over the world.

Not then a musically perfect evening, but by the end I felt almost glad that the struggles of the first half had given us an important insight into a few of the complex difficulties musicians encounter during their training. Above all however, it was a stimulating and delightful evening that thrilled its audience and most certainly should have fully rewarded the Tait Memorial Trust for their magnificent work in supporting young Australian talent.