Last Night Of The Christmas Proms With The BSO At The Great Hall Exeter University Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Helen Wyatt
Last night a friend and I were very lucky to have the chance to attend the Last Night of the Christmas Proms at the Great Hall, Exeter University. The wonderful Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra treated us to lots of festive fun and seasonable favourites led by regular guest conductor Pete Harrison. As ever, the BSO were on wonderfully top form, playing every note of every piece with precision and emotion, and taking the audience on a jolly Christmas journey for 2 jam-packed hours.
The Great Hall is a space with great acoustics and two levels of seating plus boxes. It was tastefully decorated with lights and trees, and pretty much packed out for this fun and festive event. All different ages were there, from young to old, and the rousing programme had something for everyone.
The BSO were joined also by Jenna Lee-James, a singer who has graced the stages of the West End and toured the world in multiple shows. Jenna’s voice and performance were both powerful and full of musicality; she gave us a glimpse of Elsa when she sang Let it Go from Frozen, and also treated us to a beautiful performance of Queen’s No One But You, songs from Wicked, and then a selection of traditional festive pieces, culminating in an audience sing-along, putting us all in a wonderfully Christmassy mood. The sing-along was really fun and joyful, and often several of us were up on our feet and clapping along as well.
One standout highlight for me was the world premiere of Adam Saunders’ Parade of the Snowmen; this was a fantastic classical piece which felt instantly familiar, as if it had been part of my own Christmas tradition for decades. I felt transported back to childhood, capturing the magic of watching Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman for the first time. It was melodic, dramatic and evocative of a bygone era; I could easily picture the snowmen marching up and down snowy lanes, and I smiled throughout with absolute joy.
In the second act, much of the orchestra came out dressed up in festive attire – we saw snowmen, Christmas puddings, reindeer and many more. This really added to the Christmas mood and every time we spotted something different it made us chuckle and point it out to each other. The cellists had the spotlight when they were spinning their cellos, adding a little more fun and drama to the proceedings.
This gorgeous festive concert flew by in 2 hours. The choice of pieces was perfect to get the audience in the Christmas spirit, Pete’s conducting and hosting of the event was flawless, Jenna’s voice was amazing, and the orchestra blew us away throughout. I would highly recommend attending if you can. I for one will make sure I come back again next year as this was truly a highlight for me, and really reminded me how music can bring people together in the most joyful way possible. Saunders’ Parade of the Snowmen is now a firm favourite on my Christmas playlist.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £19.
Last Night of the Christmas Proms is at the Lighthouse Poole on 20 December and at Portsmouth Guildhall, Portsmouth on 22 December. For more information or to book tickets visit https://bsolive.com/whats-on/bso-christmas-2025/