First Evening Telegraph Christmas Concert a ‘phenomenal’ start to the festive season in Dundee

By Cheryl Peebles

December 4 2022, 7:30pm

Dundee Youth Music Theatre's Michael Muir, Zoe Heggie and Hannah Shepherd in action. Image: Mhairi Edwards / DC Thomson.

Scores of talented youngsters thrilled audiences at our first ever Evening Telegraph Christmas Concert.

Stunning performances of seasonal favourites were put on by Dundee schoolchildren and members of local choir and music theatre groups.

And given the success, we’re confident that the event in our DC Thomson Meadowside HQ will become an annual highlight of the festive calendar, held in the same esteem as the Aberdeen concerts run for more than 50 years by our sister paper the Evening Express.

Dundee NYCOS choir on stage. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DCThomson.

During two showings on Sunday afternoon, there were awe-inspiring instrumentals, solos, carols and rock numbers from:

Harris Academy
Dundee NYCOS (National Youth Choir of Scotland)
Braeview Academy duo Ewan Ferrie and Cole Conner
High School of Dundee cantabile and P4/5 choirs and pipers Alastair Leonard and Jan Van Der Kuyl
Dundee Youth Music Theatre
Sing it Sign it: Tayside’s Makaton Choir.

Cole Conner and Ewan Ferrie from Braeview Academy. Image: Mhairi Edwards / DC Thomson.

Four young stars from Dundee Youth Music Theatre (DYMT) showed off the type of spellbinding performances audiences can expect from their next show, Oklahoma, while the Makaton choir showed how to sing and sign at the same time.

Sing it Sign it: Tayside’s Makaton Choir. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DCThomson.

You can see clips from some of the performances below and more photographs here.

The event was led by music director Laura Pike, with introductions from television presenter and Tele columnist Martel Maxwell and Evening Telegraph editor Dave Lord, who said it was his proudest moment in the job.

Harris Academy wind band. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DCThomson.

He said: “It is not often I am speechless but this left me close.

“What a brilliant event – I have never been so proud to say I am the editor of this newspaper.

“The acts were just amazing, the quality of talent we have in Dundee is phenomenal.

High School of Dundee P4/5 choir. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DCThomson.

“Special thanks to all who took part, all the helpers on the day, our fantastic musical director Laura Pike and of course everyone who came along and supported this event.

“They all played a huge role in what was the perfect way to start the festive season.”

Local schools will benefit from proceeds of our tickets sales, which will go to our Pounds for Primaries initiative in which local schools collect tokens to share in a £10,000 prize pot.