In the year of both the Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics, it was appropriate that the OCYO’s latest concert was an all-English affair, with music by Bax, Walton and Elgar. As always with this orchestra, it wasn’t just the technical mastery that impressed; the freshness and enthusiasm of these youngsters was an absolute joy. Incredibly, there was no sign of fatigue, even though the orchestra had just returned from a week-long tour of Slovenia.

The opening piece, Bax’s tone poem Tintagel, was wonderfully executed, recreating all the drama and imagery of this evocative piece. That difficult middle section, with its chromatic meanderings, presented no problems for these players, who despatched the entire piece with flair and confidence, meticulously guided by conductor John Traill.

Walton’s Variations on a theme of Hindemith was another complex piece, based on the opening of the second movement of Hindemith’s cello concerto, and once again these young players rose to the challenge with aplomb.

The showpiece, though, was Elgar’s magnificent Symphony No.1, which really captured the celebratory mood of the Jubilee and Olympics with its majestic, triumphant and stirring themes. Elgar himself wrote of the opening theme that it was “in intention, noble and elevating” — without doubt, the perfect choice for a concert taking place just days after the Olympic Opening Ceremony. If the players were tired after the first half they gave no hint of it here, playing with great energy, warmth and commitment.

Unsurprisingly, the applause was so vociferous that the orchestra was obliged to give an encore — appropriately, Elgar’s most stirring piece of all, Land of Hope and Glory, played in a dazzling style that would do any seasoned performer proud.

“If you were blind, you could imagine you were listening to the LSO,” I heard someone remark as I was leaving. My feelings exactly.