FOR the annual performance in aid of its Benevolent Fund, the BSO devoted an evening to a man whose concerts were a beloved part of Christmas for thousands in the South West: the late Ron Goodwin.

Goodwin’s unassuming, avuncular personality, which helped make those festive shows so successful, belied the fact that he was one of Britain’s great film composers. It’s almost impossible to think of 633 Squadron, the Miss Marple films or Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines without his melodies coming to mind.

Among the highlights of the evening were, inevitably, the tense and bellicose opening of Where Eagles Dare, and the soaring main theme of 633 Squadron, which had the BSO’s French horn section on their feet to enjoy the audience’s acclamation.

Goodwin himself was too modest to programme whole evenings of his own tunes, so the concert also honoured his work arranging other people’s work into enjoyable concert pieces, with suites of Bond and Disney themes and Sinatra tunes in the mix.

Conductor Pete Harrison capably linked the selections with reminders of the tall tales that Goodwin used to tell in his West Country burr.

It was an evening which prompted a lot of smiles, not least when our world-renowned orchestra was turned into a swing band – and a darned good one – for Goodwin’s arrangement of South Rampart Street Parade.

Goodwin was one of the greats when it came to scoring comedies, and the evening reminded us that comedy is hard work.

Seeing his Miss Marple theme performed live, you could appreciate how much it demanded from the musicians, as its jaunty, fast-paced melody, full of momentary references to other music, was passed around the orchestra to the audience's universal pleasure.

I had the honour of interviewing Goodwin a few years before his death in 2003 and remember him saying that orchestras like the BSO had got better and better over his career. He surely would have appreciated how fresh and exciting his musical legacy sounded in the hands of the BSO in 2016.