‘The performance of the St Matthew Passion, staged by Patrick Kinmonth and conceived and conducted by Suzi Digby, was one of the most inspirational evenings I can remember. The power and theatre and passion of Bach?s music, combined some of the greatest vocalists in the world, both solo and choral, with a virtual choir of ‘Young Ambassadors’, almost all of whom were new to ?classical? music. This made for a performance that caused the hairs to rise on the back of the neck from the first bars to the great close. It was beyond wonderful to see the Young Ambassadors in the audience (watching themselves in the projected Virtual Choir video for the final chorale) overcome by a music that might have at first glance seemed irrelevant to those of us who are secular and very 21st century. But the power and the infinite emotional depths of the Bach?s masterpiece clearly inspired those singers as much as it did the mesmerised audience. If the Vocal Futures model does not provide a visionary example of how to develop the young audiences of the future, nothing will.

Compared with other ?staged? re-creations of the Passion which I have seen, I found this version by far the most convincing. The drama was conveyed clearly, yet never awkwardly. The whole building was used, the different levels providing ideal dramatic opportunities for soloists and chorus; and the pungency of the sound of both the young professional chorus and orchestra (the excellent OAE) was another marvellous ingredient. I felt transported.

How much this will have been true for those 16-22 year olds, who were part of this initial experiment of bringing a classical masterpiece into their consciousness, remains to be seen; but if they do not respond to something like this, I doubt if they ever will. For the drama inherent in the music was brought alive by the production and by the generally helpful translation. (Sometimes, particularly in the first part, it has to be said that the words, despite modest and unobtrusive amplification, did not always come over clearly.)

The performance was constantly alive, and the da capo arias rarely felt repetitious. This was due partly to the often exceptional quality of the singing and playing, but also to the ingenious division of some of the solos, and the interaction of the mezzo soprano and counter tenor frequently produced a telling and unexpected dialogue. Similarly the way in which the arias were staged related them more closely than I have previously experienced to the moment in the drama upon which they were reflecting. Sharing the role of the Evangelist also enhanced the contrasts.

The chorales sounded fresh, and the undoubted masterstroke was the inclusion of a recording of the final Passion chorale sung by the youngsters, while a video mosaic of their faces gradually appeared on the floor.

No praise can be too high for Suzi Digby, whose fund-raising, and organising, as well as musical skills enabled this amazing project to get off to such a triumphant start. Let us hope that in the coming weeks and months the young people involved respond enthusiastically as they learn and understand more about this musical masterpiece. It will be important to monitor this development.

- Dr Martin Neary (ex Director of Music, Westminster Abbey)

“Every other genre is moving forward, whether jazz or R&B. But classical music is just, well, ugh! Kids are used to the high production values of Lady Gaga. You can’t fob them off!”

Choral wizard Suzi Digby conducted a crisp, swift performance. There was some lovely obbligato playing from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and some first-rate choral singing, enchanced by a hard but resonant acoustic.

We wanted to know just how good our judges are. So, we asked one of them, choral expert, Suzi Digby to put her money where her mouth is. Could she really turn a group of people who don’t sing, into a working choir within a few hours?