THE Gift of Music evening organised by Okehampton and District Lions Club gave both entertainment to its audience and a platform of opportunity to the performers.

Designed to help nurture local talent, the evening, at Fairplace Church on Saturday, was compered by Okehampton-based magician David Merlin.

He introduced acts that ranged from ?Riversong? by Exbourne School Choir to a Stanley Holloway monologue performed by Peter Ericson, who, before becoming a student at Exeter College, attended the West of England School for the Visually Impaired.

Youngest performers were Kerry Bourne, Katie Holwill and Charlotte Fewings, who played and sang with a confidence beyond their years.

Rebecca Wagstaff?s recorder and flute playing charmed the audience as did the multi-talented Katherine Foulger.

Emily Warren and Sarah Warren brought a Russian flavour to the evening by playing balalaika and Prima Dorma and finishing with a guitar-piano duet.

Amy Paddon showed great potential singing the ?Theme from Titanic? with Katherine. Amy later received a standing ovation for her interpretation of the song ?How Do I Live??.

The concert concluded with Nadrah Alshawi who showed a special talent in her singing of ?Time to Say Goodbye? and ?Somewhere Over the Rainbow? which received a standing ovation.

The Lions expressed thanks to the Okehampton Silver Band which provided a selection of songs that delighted the audience.

Special guests for the evening were town mayor Christine Marsh and Hannah Power from the West Devon group Hannah and the Madding Crowd.

Both guests praised all the performers for their ?great enthusiasm and high levels of achievement?.

Diplomas for each person taking part were presented by event organiser Ray Dean.

This was the first ?Gift of Music? concert organised by the Lions and it is intended to make it an annual event. Lions press officer Rob Saxby said: ?It is a great platform for the youngsters. It will be an ongoing thing with the funds used exclusively for furthering local talent,? he said.

The Lions thanked Gerald Scantlebury for his help and Martin Campbell for running the sound system.