A LARGE orchestra of 42 musicians from Crediton’s Twinned Town of Avranches, Normandy, France, will be performing two concerts during their visit to Crediton from Thursday, May 25 to Sunday, May 28.

In total there will be 54 in the group who will arrive via Plymouth on the Thursday and will be hosted by local families, primarily from Crediton Twinning Association and the members of the Choir of Holy Cross Church.

The visit was requested by Crediton Avranches Partenaire (CAP), which is the group who co-ordinate exchanges from the Avranches side of the Twinning.

On Friday, May 26, a reception for the Orchestra will be held at Crediton Town Council Offices hosted by Councillor Frank Letch, Mayor of Crediton.

Within the French group will be the Mayor of Avranches, David Nicholas whose young son is a member of the Orchestra.

The ages of the visiting musicians range from 11 to 68 years and later on Friday the group will tour Exeter Cathedral before presenting a concert at the Mint Methodist Church in Exeter at 7.30pm.

The guest soloist at this concert will be Paul Morgan, who was the organist at Exeter Cathedral until recently.

On Saturday, May 27, the visitors will visit Dartmoor during the morning before returning to Crediton in the afternoon to prepare for the Evening Concert at the Parish Church of the Holy Cross.

They will be joined at this concert, which starts at 7.30pm, by the Choir from Holy Cross.

A social reception for the visitors, the choir and the host families will take place in the Boniface Centre before the concert. Entry to both concerts is free and donations to FORCE will be invited.

Following this very full visit the group will leave Crediton on Sunday, May 28 for their journey home. The Choir of the Holy Cross Church in Crediton will be visiting Avranches later in the year to perform in concerts and church services in the area.

Alan Quick