When Jim Stevens rose to propose a vote of thanks at the end of the concert provided by the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra, the audience were on the edges of their seats ready to respond. The Carrick Centre had rung to applause all night as Wallace Galbraith led his young players through a tremendous variety of music.

Jim singled out only four members for individual mention ; the wonderfully lithe and elegant Monica McCrorie who had performed Irish Step Dances; the award-winning Maybole piper Scott Barrie; the youngest player Ronan McHugh (only 10 years old), and the orchestra leader Megan Espie. Megan had featured in a slow Irish Air along with Jane Hunter which had brought a hush to the otherwise exuberant reels,  Strathspeys and jigs of the first half.

In his comments between playing, Wallace told the audience about the many tours which the orchestra had carried out through the years and broke the news to his players that on their tour of South Africa in 2015 they would spend two nights in a safari park. Elizabeth Veitch, who has a son in the orchestra, said on leaving “That is the best atmosphere that I have encountered in years of supporting the orchestra. The audience were really “with” the players all night. The youngsters are delighted with their reception.”