There can’t be many evenings that begin with Brahms and end with dancing to These Boots Are Made for Walkin’, but Clare Hall’s Freshers’ Concert managed just that!

On Monday 2 November, new and returning members came together for an evening that showed just how much musical talent there is in our College. From solo performances to the Choir and three very different bands, there was plenty to enjoy and a lovely sense of everyone cheering each other on.

The first half offered a gentler start. Ines Ho, Nikolai Kazantsev and Joe Mason opened the concert as the Clare Hall Piano Trio, performing the first movement of Brahms’s Clarinet Trio in A minor.

Glen Downie followed with music by Villa-Lobos on saxophone, and Haoyue Ran sang Matisyahu’s One Day, accompanying herself on guitar.

Mathieu Beaudouin performed the opening movement of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata on viola, before Alessandro Cortello and Nikolai Kazantsev shared a selection of settings of Anthony Howell’s poetry for voice and cello, with music by Battista Pradal and Cortello himself.

Clare Hall Choir rounded off the first half, directed by Ben de Souza and accompanied by Marcus Cox. Their performance gave us a little preview of the forthcoming Joint Evensong at Peterhouse and Burns’ Night, with Thomas T. Noble’s Nunc dimittis and Ben’s own arrangement of My love is like a red, red rose, alongside Sting’s Fields of Gold.

Then it was time to make room for dancing! After the interval, the Dining Hall was transformed into a dancefloor as Ace of Babes, featuring Research Fellow Jaco de Swart, took to the stage with their rock and metal set.

Next came The Clarevoyants, made up of Clare Hall students, with a lovely mix of soul and R&B. The Cushy Punts, featuring Professorial Fellow Ben Allanach, rounded off the evening with original songs and much-loved covers, including Jolene and These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.

What a treat to discover the musicians among our newest members and see familiar faces in a different light. Even better was having everyone together to enjoy it, from those sharing their music on stage to those making the most of the dancefloor.

Our biggest thank you goes to Dr Joe Mason, who organised the concert alongside performing in it. Bringing so many musicians and musical styles together takes a great deal of work, and we are so grateful to Joe for making this wonderful evening happen.

A huge thank you also to all our performers, everyone who came along, and those who helped Joe bring everything together. Thank you to the Tutorial Office for generously providing the refreshments.

To our new members: welcome to Clare Hall. We hope you enjoyed your first Freshers’ Concert as much as we did!