IF Rachel Greenwood, already known to us as a violinist and now making her debut as conductor of Bewdley Choral Society, was at all nervous, there was no sign of it.

She is not a minimalist conductor who works with the twitch of an eyebrow.

The audience, as well as the choir, knew at all times what effect she was after and the choir kept their eyes on her - always a good sign - and responded.

The full-blooded delivery of the opening Bach chorale told us what we were in for, and it was a pleasure to be able to hear a strong tenor line.

Otherwise there were carols to warm the audience on a cold night, and when the conductor invited us to provide the ground bass to Judith Weir's interesting My Guardian Angel we were by then sufficiently in her hands to provide a confident response.

Vivaldi's Gloria was nominally the major work - Lindsey Hagger and Jennifer Wemyss, soprano and contralto, well-matched when paired and in their solos - but other successes stick in the mind as readily.

The orchestra's unconducted performance, under its leader Angela Richey, of Holst's St Paul's Suite, as fine an example of ensemble playing as you could wish, and the chorus and answer effect in Britten's Hymn to the Virgin was beautifully done. DL.