The auditorium at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Monday evening was packed to capacity with an audience of over 2,000. The stage was filled with up to 170 musicians at a time and the performances ranged from jazz to “Jerusalem”.

The atmosphere was reminiscent of a night at the Proms, as soloist after soloist stepped forward for their moment of glory and each performance was greeted with rapturous applause.

But this was not the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, nor the operatic divas and jazz supremos of today. Tomorrow perhaps. For this was the night of not 1,000 but 500 stars from among the youth of North Lanarkshire.

The three-hour concert was a tribute to the talent of pupils, their music tutors and all those who regularly give up Friday evenings to attend after-school music sessions at Coatbridge High, to sing and play. And come they do, in droves, bussed in free by the authority. This is part of Aiming Higher, North Lanarkshire education department’s raison d’etre.

It was also a testament to grants from the New Opportunities Fund which the authority feeds into music, sport and artistic activities in its drive to raise the self-esteem of children in one of Scotland’s most deprived areas.

Presenter Dougie Vipond said they were aiming to raise the roof of the concert hall and raise it they surely did. The talent and self-assurance of the performers was astounding. The 170 10 to 13-year-old members of the North Lanarkshire Preparatory Band were so good that they promise even finer bands for the future, in the view of international trumpeter John Wallace, head of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Then there was the award-winning North Lanarkshire Wind Band, which last month won gold at the UK National Concert Band Festival in Manchester and was presented on Tuesday night with a congratulatory certificate by First Minister Jack McConnell.

Also performing were the North Lanarkshire Junior Chorus, the 80-strong Senior Chorus and the Jazz Orchestra. Of the soloists, special mention has to go to Claire Miller for her big voice and silky jazz vocals of “It’s Only a Paper Moon”, to Alison Muslek for her vibrant rendering of “Everything I Do” and to Stephanie McPherson for a magnificent “The Holy City”.

It was a night to remember.

The concert was put on in conjunction with Band Supplies, Jupiter Musical Instruments and Dittoprint. A video will be available in June for pound;12 from North Lanarkshire Council