Classics Galore! 10th edition

Classics Galore! returns to the University of Exeter Great Hall on Saturday 14 November, starting at 7:30 pm. This is the 10th edition of the concert, and it's one of the city's biggest indoor musical nights, often filling the hall with more than 1,000 people. It's billed as Exeter's own Last Night of the Proms, and that's a fair description: it pairs a full orchestra with a brass band and two choral societies, building towards a finale in the Proms tradition.

The line-up this time brings together the Classics Galore! Symphony Orchestra, the Lympstone Band, the Ottery St Mary Choral Society & Friends, and the St David's Players. Malcolm Matthews is musical director, with Sarah Greinig leading the orchestra, soprano soloist Cheryl Enever on the singing, and Victoria Graham compèring the evening. It's a lot of musicians on one stage, and the whole thing raises money for FORCE Cancer Charity.

There's a bit of history behind it. Classics Galore! started with Dick and Posy Passmore, an Exeter couple with a lifelong love of music. When Dick was first diagnosed with cancer in 2000, he wanted to give something back for the treatment and support he received, and the first concert took place in 2007. It was such a success that further shows followed in 2009 and 2011, before organisation passed to a committee in 2012, with the Passmores still heavily involved. It ran every two years until the 2021 concert was postponed, then returned in November 2022. Dick died in early 2019, having dreamed of raising £150,000 for FORCE — a milestone reached at the seventh concert that same year. The money funds FORCE's free services for local people living with cancer across Devon.

Tickets are split by where you sit. In the stalls, adults pay £21 for the front, £23 for the rear, and £23 for the centre, with under-16s at £14. The gallery is £27 for restricted view, £30 for side and rear, and £32 for the central block, with under-16s at £19. Box tickets are £32 for adults. The concert starts at 7:30 pm at the University of Exeter Great Hall.