Hundreds of musicians, friends and family came together to remember their musical inspiration, Jeffrey Vaughan Martin, in a special concert at the weekend. Here Ken Scott recounts the evening and what it meant to those involved.

Celebrating Jeffrey was quite simply a triumph.

Three hundred performers produced glorious music in a range of styles and were supported by the virtuosity of Fraser Bowles who played the hauntingly beautiful cello solo in Jenkin’s Benedictus from the Armed Man, and Paul Benniston with Haydn’s exhilarating Trumpet Concerto. Add to that a moving and personal message from Dame Evelyn Glennie, which preceded a specially recorded version of her composition A little Prayer.

The programme featured five instrumental ensembles: Maidstone Youth Orchestra, Maidstone Youth Wind Orchestra, the JVM All Stars Band, the JVM All Stars orchestra and a bassoon ensemble; and four choirs, the JVM Singers, Maidstone Choral Union, The Maidstone Singers, and West Malling Community Choir.

These nine groups were led by six different conductors - Kathryn Ridgeway, Jonathan Vincent, Steve Seeds, Chris Ridgeway, Ben Rous and Graham Mann. They did a quite remarkable job with scarcely any rehearsal time, a tribute both to their leadership and the performers they led. The standard of performance was extraordinarily good, and the emotional challenge that the concert posed added to a magnificent concert.

It was very fitting that both Jeffrey’s children performed in the concert - Debbie in the orchestra and Jonathan in the choir.

All of these groups were lovingly integrated by Tommy Pearson, the producer who did a phenomenal job. His video that provided the structure to the whole concert and gave people a chance to reflect on Jeffrey and his impact on them and their colleagues was a masterpiece that captured a whole range of emotions. It made for a unique concert, that was greatly appreciated by a very large audience.

The audience was not only appreciative but generous and their contributions to the Jeffrey Vaughan Martin Bursary Fund augurs well for its success.

Celebrating Jeffrey was however much more than a hugely successful concert. In bringing together all these groups, Maidstone Area Arts Partnership was helping to celebrate some of the cultural brilliance that is often overlooked in our county town. This concert was Maidstone at its best, and as councillor David Pickett, leader of the Heritage, Culture and Leisure Committee said at the interval “ We must do this sort of thing more often” - and we should.