In a well-balanced musical meal, old favourites, Beethoven and Brahms, were lovingly sandwiched around contemporary composer Huw Watkins. It was clear to see, as well as hear, as bodies swayed and instruments danced, just how much these players delight in creating beautiful, mesmerising music together, whatever its mood or genre.

You always know with this lot that at some point, passages from soaring horn, voluptuous cello, crisp oboe, clarion clarinet, floating flute, bubbling bassoon or twinkling piano, from virtuosic violin or viola, or from the oh, so beautiful bass, is going to grab you and whisk you off to Wonderland. It's a given.

After an opening piano trio, in which Tim Horton's rippling runs and the sisterly synchronicity of Marie and Sara Bittloch's strings conjured up a sturdy, not-too-scary Beethovian Ghost, all eleven members of the ensemble came together to perform Broken Consort.

There being very little music about that involves an entire combination of piano, strings, brass and woodwind, Huw Watkins composed Broken Consort especially for Ensemble 360, different instrument groups taking turns in three movements (Lament - piano and strings, Study - wind and horn, Sicilienne - oboe and string trio) before coming together for the Finale (and also for Interlude links.) The piece, premiered just a year ago, now has achieved a slicker fluency.

Of course, there's always a slight danger with slick fluency that a little of the clarity and emphasis of phrases that are newly uttered might be lost, while music with sudden, percussive bursts, starts, stops and cartoon-cat-on-keyboard moments always challenges its audience.

"Interesting" , "I wasn't quite ready for that!", "Well, I liked it and I didn't" and "That was different!" they said, but all enjoyed it. The Sicilienne went down particularly well, the plaintive beauty and sensitivity from Adrian Wilson's oboe really hitting the spot.

A melodious feel-good factor was our final treat. Brahms wrote Serenade No.1 in his early twenties, though, really, he wanted to write symphonies. But there some guy had already been there and done that (- Ludwig Van something), so he didn't dare. He needn't have worried: the joyful melodies that run through his eventual symphonies were already in full flow.

Wonderland moments and haunting motifs ringing in our ears, we left, fingers crossed that funds will be granted for more concerts and that music lovers will soon be packing Priory Church to its proverbial rafters!

Eileen Caiger Gray

PS Good luck to our wondrous (Elias) string quartet as they go off into the big, wide world, making way for new top-class performers to come and enthrall us.