Community concert raises the roof at Melton's St Mary's Church
A rousing community concert at Melton Mowbray’s St Mary’s Church was such a huge success on Saturday evening that it is now planned to be an annual event.
It was organised by Hickling-based The Spotlight Theatre Group and featured a wide array of local singers and musicians performing to an audience of 130 people, including Mayor of Melton, Councillor Jim Adcock, and his wife and consort, Kate.
The show raised an impressive £1,350 for Dove Cottage Day Hospice, at Stathern, and the theatre group’s community music project, which allows it to visit local villages and give subsidised and free concerts.
Performers included Belvoir Big Band, pianist Thomas Corden performing the adagio from Mozart’s clarinet concerto and Benny Goodman’s Tin Roof Blues, the Hickling Choir and Lady Lindy singing 1940s classic tunes.
Lisa Mills, a leading member of the Spotlight group who sang at the concert, said: “We had a standing ovation at the end of the event.
"It was a cold night but hopefully we warmed the hearts of the people that came along.
“It was very, very well received and we intend to do it every year and we've already been in talks with Belvoir Big Band about it.
“The Mayor and Mayoress said they had a wonderful evening celebrating community music and Dove cottage are thrilled with the amount raised.”
One of the audience members, Carol Beadle, email the group to say: “So many wonderful performers. The concerts just seem to get better and better. Such a wonderful night that lifted our hearts and put a smile on our faces."
The Belvoir Big Band said it was ‘delighted’ to take part in the concert – musical director Jonathan Barker commented: “The band played a range of popular numbers, including ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, where the audience all joined in waving their arms with their camera torches.
“We also did a joint performance of ‘New York, New York’ with the Hickling Community Choir, which filled the church to the rafters and was well received.”
He added: “This is the second year that the band have performed in the beautiful St Mary’s Church, and it is always a popular venue for us with great acoustics and always an enthusiastic local crowd.”
A grant from this year’s Ragdale Hall Community Chest, in association with the Melton Times, enabled the community concert to take place.
The Spotlight Theatre Group and Singers was launched in late 2025 by a close group of friends from very experienced musical theatre and drama backgrounds.
Their biggest show in 2026 was a production of Forever Young at the MMC Venue at Mountsorrel.
Next concert for The Spotlight Theatre Group is a Christmas Cabaret at Hickling village hall on Friday December 4, which also be raising money for Dove Cottage and also for the village hall.
Tickets cost £5 and include mulled wine, mince pies and quizzes, as well as festive fun music – call 07525 779162 for details.
Go to www.ticketsource.com/the-spotlight-theatre-group-and-singers to get tickets for their other upcoming.