Auckland Baptist Tramping Club This was a tramp with a difference - a 30 minute walk from The Bracken to the Auckland Domain, a picnic tea, and a tramp through the world of classical music with the Auckland Philharmonia, Skycity Massed Choir and guest singer Dame Kiri te Kanawa. We had the draw for the first of five spot prizes. Clues were drawn out of a hat. Each clue was a trivia statement about classical music, and a participant’s name was in the statement. That participant would win the prize. Kim won a CD of classical pieces about subjects of God’s creation, containing such items as Butterfly by Grieg, The White Peacock by Griffes, and Rustle of Spring by Sinding. We left The Bracken at 5:30pm to walk along Brightside Ave and into Mountain Rd. When we reached the Mercy Hospital we took a detour through the lovely glade-like Almorah Rd, and saw one of the corrugated iron elephants on the Rannoch property. Christine was waiting to join us as we approached Khyber Pass Rd. We arrived at the domain just after 6pm, and were able to find a possy near the front and close to the stage The concert was to have been the Saturday evening but rain and stormy weather forced the postponement. There was a large crowd of people, but not nearly as many as normal for this type of event. Three more prizes were drawn. Christine won a CD of popular songs based on classical music - this included Song of India by Tommy Dorsey, Asia Minor by Kokomo, and Romeo by Petula Clark. A CD of some of the music featured in the Starlight Symphony went to Rosalind. Alison was the lucky winner of a CD of yesteryear’s praise and worship, being pipe organ works by Bach, Franck and Widor. The concert got under way at 7:30pm with Copland’s Rodeo, and the Skycity Choir, which Joy was in, sang the Gloria by Vivaldi. A variety of soloists performed such pieces as Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, Rhapsody in Blue, Bolero, Faure’s Pie Jesu (sung by a 14yo boy soprano) and the jazz classic Take Five. Some of us got on our feet and waltzed to the Blue Danube before we had a bracket of opera numbers by Verdi, Mozart and Bizet including the Anvil Chorus complete with an anvil player. Phillip won the last spot prize during the interval, a CD of some of the classical music featured in the various clues. Joy came down from the choir seats to join us for the break. We enjoyed the Ruslan and Ludmilla overture and Grieg’s Piano Concerto before Dame Kiri Te Kanawa came on. She performed One Fine Day and O My Beloved Daddy by Puccini, an aria by Korngold, and the Maori song Hine E Hine. Keegan Maley, a 5yo boy from Hamilton who has endured over 20 skull-reshaping operations, switched on the laser lights for music from The Lord Of The Rings. Kids First was the featured charity, and funds raised from donations, raffle tickets and light sticks would go to providing much-needed equipment for intensive care of children at Middlemore Hospital. The final four items of the concert always feature as such each year for the Starlight Symphony. The words of Land of Hope and Glory were displayed on the screen for us to sing along with the massed choir and laser lights. But the real climax of the concert was the 1812 Overture - a spectacular sight with choir, orchestra, laser lights, fireworks and guns from our NZ Army. Pieces of used fireworks up to several cm across fell as a drizzly rain as we enjoyed this marvellous spectacle. The last two items had to be treated with respect - God Defend New Zealand by everyone rising to their feet, and Now Is The Hour by everyone packing up their things ready to go home. We walked back to The Bracken directly along Mountain Rd to cap a lovely evening of sound, light and fellowship.