Our concerts are never ‘formal’ affairs – please don’t dress up – and this one will be no exception. Our soloist will be a singer, Belinda Evans. You may remember her from our May 2016 concert, when she replaced a singer who was unwell, at less than a week’s notice, and sung Canteloube’s ‘Songs of the Auvergne’ to great acclaim. (She would have been invited back much sooner, but of course we know what happened to stop that!) This time, she will be singing three arias by Beethoven and Mozart, and will actually have the advantage of rehearsing them with the orchestra! Also in the first half will be the overture to the Beethoven opera ‘Fidelio’, to set the scene for Belinda. The second half of the concert will be Schubert’s Symphony number 3, which, although it was written in 1815 when Schubert was just 18, was not published until many years after his untimely, early (1828) death, in 1884. The concert will be conducted by Simon Gower, who has not conducted an NDS concert before, and we welcome him to the podium. Tickets, still only £10 for adults and £8 for concessions, are available by phoning 01959 577659, or by emailing northdownssinfonia@gmail.com, or from Sheree’s Stores from April. As ever, if you phone or email, we will keep the tickets for you to pick up and pay on the door.