CHOIRS debuted a piece of music written especially for their school by an award-winning composer.

A Christmas concert at Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green featured modern day pop hits, classical pieces and the first outing of a bespoke composition called “Winter”.

Composer Chris Brammeld, whose pieces have been performed nationally and internationally, was asked to pen a secular Christmas piece based around the poem “Winter” by Walter de la Mare.

Julia Whitbread, director of music at Bancroft’s, said: “When commissioning Chris to write this for us the only brief I gave him was that it should be a secular Christmas piece, for choirs, and to include a harp.

“Talking to Chris after the concert, he said he was delighted with our performance. I was delighted that he could be at our Christmas concert to hear the first performance of his work.”

Songs sung at the concert on Wednesday, December 6 included “I Wish It Could be Christmas Every Day” and “Oh Holy Night.”

Mr Brammeld is undertaking a PhD in composition at Cambridge University.