The Berger enjoying a toast before their special concert at Elizabeth Court, Salisbury.AN 83-year-old Salisbury woman whose musical family live dotted across Europe enjoyed a very special concert at her home last weekend.

Grace Berger's two sons and four grandchildren are all talented musicians - one grandson is even a member of a respected conservatoire.

But Grace, who lives in Elizabeth Court, rarely gets to hear them play together, as her eldest son lives in Switzerland with his two young sons, another two grandchildren live in Austria and her youngest son lives in the Czech Republic.

In fact, the last time she saw them all together was three years ago, when they flew to England for her 80th birthday.

So when Grace asked them to visit and perform together as a family for the staff and residents at Elizabeth Court, they were more than happy to oblige.

"I'm getting a bit older now, so I thought it would be nice to give a concert for the residents and my local friends," said Grace, who taught at Broad Chalke school for ten years before she retired in 1981.

"My children and grandchildren were very keen to do it because they love to play, so all I had to do was ask.

"They arranged everything and the staff here were also excellent."

The concert was held on Saturday evening and the family played 13 different pieces by composers ranging from Bach and Mozart to Shostakovich and Nielsen.

There was a range of sounds, too, as each member played a different instrument.

Grace's eldest son, Jonathan (48), played the flute, while his two youngest children, Frederic (13) and Jeremy (eight), played the cello and violin.

They all live in Morges, Switzerland, with Frederic studying at the Conservatoire of Music in Lausanne.

Jonathan's eldest children, Hjalti (22) and Sunneva (21), flew in from Vienna, Austria, to play the guitar and recorder and were accompanied by Hjalti's girlfriend, Hee-Jung - a talented pianist.

Completing the ensemble was Grace's youngest son, Adam (46), who played the oboe.

"All my family seem to be incredibly talented," said Grace.

"It's unbelievable really, as I never played a thing and neither did my husband."

Grace's family flew home on Monday but she is already planning their next visit.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the concert," she said.

"The only thing I wish was that we'd had some strong men there, so we could have ended with some Viennese waltzes.

"Maybe we can do that next time!"