FANTASIA ORCHESTRA/JESS GILLAM ROYAL CONCERT HALL

THIS was Jess Gillam's seventh concert in Nottingham in seven years.

- By WILLIAM RUFF

Jess Gillam and conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh with the Fantasia Orchestra at the Royal Concert Hall

(ALEX RIMELL)

If you know any astrologers (or Harry Potter fans), they'll be keen to tell you that seven is one of the most magic of numbers. This time she teamed up with Fantasia Orchestra, making its debut in the city and clearly no slouches themselves when it comes to conjuring up musical magic.The enthusiasm of the performers was palpable from the outset. Conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh gave the audience and the venue a verbal hug before suggesting that the concert's unifying principle was joyful energy through centuries and styles. And the variety was dizzying: Baroque virtuosity, folk traditions, supercharged jazz and cutting-edge contemporary innovation.

No wonder the evening was called Electric Currents: you could hear the air crackling even before they started.