WHILE a traditional evening with this world renowned orchestra would normally be relatively reserved, this was a far livelier affair.

Hundreds of people revelled in a few hours of nostalgia last night at the sold out Symphonic Pink Floyd extravaganza under the baton of the ebullient Pete Harrison.

There must have been close to around 200 singers and musicians on the concert hall stage with the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus at the back, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra on one side at the front and the BSO's Pink Floyd rock band on the other. The overall effect was simply stunning both visually and acoustically.

Apparently it was the first time the BSO had performed with the choir and rock band live in the UK.

The first half started with Time from Dark Side of the Moon which included a stand out guitar solo by Pete Callard who proved to be one of the stars of the night.

Other hits followed, Is There Anybody Out There? and some of the later hits such as Learning To Fly and a spectacular rendition of Shine On You Crazy Diamond.

One of the highlights was The Great Gig in the Sky with an outstanding performance by soloist Deborah Jordan which literally brought the first half to a close on a high note.

After the interval we were treated to more hits including Money, Hey You, Wish You Were Here before the closing number Another Brick in the Wall which was repeated for the encore, and had nearly everyone out of their seats and belting out the lyrics.

As Pete Harrison pointed out, the versatility of this world class orchestra is that it can turn its hand to anything from Bach and Beethoven to pop rock – and Pink Floyd's extended compositions lend themselves perfectly for this type of interpretation. This was a real treat and a truly memorable evening that was clearly loved by all.