When Kiffer discovered that he was short of a cellist for the concert, the remedy was obvious and simple. Although Jackie needed a little persuasion, she agreed that it might be fun. Jenny Ward-Clarke was coming to lead the cello section and Jackie would sit next to her. Little did the orchestra know what it was in for. The first problem was that Jackie always played as a soloist. The second was that she was used to having space around her, and in the cello section there was no space. She seemed to fill the whole area, so there was a lot of kerfuffle as everyone tried to fit about her. Jenny looked small beside her. I was excited about Jackie playing with the String Players and was sitting in the audience with a sleeping Theresa in my arms – her first concert. Kiffer lifted his baton and began the first piece – the Stanley Concerto No. 1. I could see Jackie looking slightly surprised by the restrictions of baroque performing, and she was certainly not having any of that. Off she sailed, playing the music her own way, as if it were a romantic concerto, and loving every moment of it. Here was new ground to explore, and she did. No one stood a chance. I could see Kiffer fighting to keep the tempo and style, but the orchestra was being swept along on a powerful wave and his desperate gestures had no response. He tried to encourage the violins to project their sound, but the more they did, the more Jackie did too. She had never been in a position where she couldn’t hear herself, and had a much greater capacity to soar and sing than anyone else. The cello part rose and swelled, and filled the whole church. Kiffer and the entire orchestra were her flock – they had no option but to follow wherever she went. << less