Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire and is home to the British Army’s 14th regiment Royal Artillery.
Our brief was to play for the Christmas Ball in the Royal Artillery Officers Mess. Earlier in the day we had been playing for a wedding in Devon but fortunately there was plenty of time to get from one venue to another and we arrived in good time.
We have been involved in many gigs at UK Barracks and, as such, are well versed in the procedure for getting on the campus. Arriving complete with photo ID and, nowadays LFT’s, we were soon given passes and then escorted to the venue for tonight’s party.
Welcome Drinks Reception
Our first brief was to provide some stylish ambient music whilst guests arrived for a short drinks reception before dinner.
The blend of Piano and Cello is ideally suited to these occasions and we played a selection of popular covers with the occasional classical piece thrown in for good measure.
After an hour or so we relocated from the entrance lobby into the Mess where the dinner was taking place.
Music for an MOD Christmas Ball and Dinner
A quick survey of the location when we arrived earlier had given us the heads up that there wasnt much room available for us to play!
Normally we ask for 2m x 2m, which as a guide is a good space for us to play in. However, this simply wasnt an option! No matter, we are always flexible and never defeated when it comes to fitting in tight spaces.
As this wasn’t a formal dinner, but a Christmas Ball, there were more relaxed rules surrounding the meal which allowed for people to get up to go to the bar for example. This was great but did mean that AM in particular had to be very careful of her bowing arm when people we going past!!
We continued with a slightly more upbeat playlist and also included a number of suitable Christmas songs to suit the occasion.
We played for the duration of dinner and were then kindly provided with a meal of our own! For this we were escorted into a different part of the mess.
Once we had been fed and watered it took around 10 minutes for us to pack away our instruments and head off site.
Musicians and Entertainment for Your MOD Event
JAM Duo have performed for a wide range of MOD Dinners and formal events. We travel to Barracks all over the UK to provide a range of background and more upbeat music to suit the occasion.
If you would like to find out more about how our Cello and Piano Duo can enhance your MOD event then please get in touch using our contact form.
