CELEBRITIES and dignitaries joined the sell-out crowd as a choral society celebrated its most successful Christmas concert to date last weekend.

TV presenter and newsreader Mary Nightingale was the special guest compere at Marlow Choral Society’s Christmas carol concert on Saturday at Shelley Theatre, Court Gardens.

Marlow Mayor Cllr Suzanne Brown and Marlow MP Dominic Grieve attended the concert, which raised a record amount of over £2,600 for Marlow Age Concern and Peach, a charity for children with autism.

Cllr Brown is the manager of Marlow Age Concern’s day centre in Glade Road, Marlow.

Anne Roe, chairman of Marlow Choral Society, said: ‘It was a wonderful evening. Both the audience and the choir enjoyed themselves, and we raised more money for charity than ever before – people were so generous that we ran out of raffle tickets!

“Mary Nightingale was a wonderfully entertaining compère, sharing with us Christmas poems and funny anecdotes.”

Mary has personal connections with Marlow - her mother who sang with Marlow Choral Society for many years and who also used to cook lunches at the Marlow Age Concern day centre.

The performance also marked Jackie Duxbury’s twenty-second consecutive year organising and conducting the Marlow Choral Society carol concert.

The carol concert will be broadcast on Marlow FM on Christmas Day at 3pm.

Their next concert will be Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe Solennelle’ on May 10 at All Saints’ Church, Marlow.

Rehearsals start on January 13. For more information call Anne Roe on 07973 285244 or email annegalbraith@btinternet.com or visit www.marlowchoralsociety.org.uk.