The Fulltone Orchestra Christmas Concert Review

Reviewed by Stacey Henson

Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review 

The Fulltone Orchestra Christmas concert was a special evening full of festive joy and music that guaranteed all present left in the Christmas spirit.

Photo by Stacey Henson.

Taking place at the wonderful venue of Central Hall Westminster, instantly drawing you into the festive magic with lit up Christmas trees and tinsel. This decorative touch carries through to the auditorium which utilises its lighting and set up to enhance the overall tone of the performance to come. Despite a slightly unclear seating plan, the audience once ready had a great view from any position of the stage as the orchestra arrived. Another lovely touch was the tinsel decorating certain instruments amongst the orchestra including a Santa hat sitting upon the harp. 

The performance begins and concludes with the iconic voice of Stephen Fry. This charming narration also offers an important reminder of the concert's cause: Mind, the UK’s leading mental health charity. This is a wonderful choice of charity given that despite the many wonders of Christmas it can still often be a difficult and straining time for many in a multitude of ways. With some funds being raised through ticket sales this helps the audience make a difference by simply attending.

The Fulltone Orchestra is expertly conducted by Anthony Brown. Brown’s connection to the orchestra is clear throughout the night, this being no surprise with him having been a fundamental part in its development and creation since 2017. The concert begins with music from the popular and timeless Christmas classic - Polar Express. This extremely strong start introduces not only the powerful orchestra but also the choir's wonderful accompaniment. 

Soon after, the audience are introduced to the sensational voice of Emmet Cahill, an internationally acclaimed Irish tenor and lead singer of Celtic Thunder making his UK debut. From his first song of the stunning ‘Pure Imagination’, Cahill instantly engages the audience with his vocals which mixed with the spectacular orchestra is utterly captivating. You can’t help but feel chills when listening and this continues through the concert showcasing his variety and incredible talent. After Cahill’s strong introduction followed by a powerful rendition of ‘Go The Distance’ from Disney's Hercules, the concert reveals another star to take the stage…

Camilla Kerslake, British classical crossover singer and BRIT Nominated Soprano, graces the stage with thoroughly enchanting vocals that flow beautifully with the Orchestra and set list. Starting off with a lovely rendition of ‘A Dream Is A Wish + When You Wish Upon A Star’’ Kerslake’s voice is warm and inviting, followed by a striking performance of the operatic ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ where her talent really shines. Both singers uplift each other throughout the night with wonderful rapport, made even more impressive by the conclusion to the concert's first half of The Greatest Showman’s ‘A Million Dreams’ apparently being their first time singing together.

The second half focuses on an entirely Christmas Set list with classics such as ‘It’s Beginning To Look A Lot LIke Christmas’, ‘Mary Did You Know’ and ‘I’ll be Home For Christmas’. Two highlights were certainly Kerslakes moving rendition of ‘Silent Night’ and Cahills powerful ‘O Holy Night’. It must be stated however that the non Christmas songs within the first half are skillfully chosen and don’t feel out of place, evoking that same magical feeling and taking the audience on a musical journey. In fact, a highlight of the first act was Kerslake's magnificent rendition of ‘Think Of Me’ and Cahill’s spine tingling performance of ‘Music Of The Night’, proving that no matter the circumstances there is always room for the wonderful tunes of Phantom Of The Opera. 

While accompanying throughout other songs in the setlist, the choir really get a chance to shine in their wonderful solo number of ‘Carol Of The Bells’. The intricacy and flow of the song helps to highlight their vocals and skill as well as showcasing the wonderful leadership of Anthony Brown as he conducts them. 

Whilst staying consistent throughout and providing strong accompaniment to the featured singers, the Fulltone Orchestra shone with the ‘Love Actually’ arrangement being a massive highlight that really showcased the Orchestra's power and ability to convey emotion with the glorious power of music.

Throughout there were a few things which unfortunately let the concert down, the most noticeable being small occasional mic mishaps and missed entries. The overall intonation, sound mixing and balance with the orchestra was also off somewhat (this however likely not obvious to some of the audience and was a more technical detail). This paired with some small missed lyrics and timings made the overall concert feel somewhat under-rehearsed. However, these issues didn’t take away from the magic and were quickly rectified, any and all issues seeming to have improved somewhat in the second half. 

With the iconic ‘White Christmas’ concluding the concert, there was a sense of uplifting joy throughout the audience which despite not being overly large in numbers still gave a wonderful applause as the singers and orchestra took a well deserved bow. 

Photo by Stacey Henson

Ultimately, the Fulltone Orchestra's Christmas concert delivers on all it promises with a wonderful night filled with the magnificent music of Christmas for an important and thoughtful cause. With the mention of the Fulltone Orchestra's upcoming 2025 tour we can look forward to seeing the joy they’ll continue to spread and a reminder of how music can bring us all together at any time of the year.

You can find out more about the Fulltone Orchestra’s work and their current schedule of shows by visiting their website 

https://fto.org.uk/