Young musicians from East Sussex will perform with an award-winning cellist at two prestigious summer concerts.
The events at the De La Warr Pavilion, in Bexhill, and Arundel Cathedral will see the East Sussex Youth Orchestra appear with East Sussex-based soloist Laura van der Heijden.
The 16-year-old, from Forest Row, was catapulted into the national spotlight after triumphing in last year’s BBC Young Musician contest.
She will join the youth orchestra, pride of the East Sussex Music Service, in a concert programme which includes Weber’s Overture To Oberon, Haydn’s Cello Concerto No 1 in C Major and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4.
Richard Sigsworth, acting head of the East Sussex Music Service, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the orchestra to work with an outstanding young musician who began her musical journey in East Sussex but has gone on to earn national acclaim.
“The concerts offer a really appealing programme and will give people the chance to experience the thrill of live classical music and to see at first hand the cream of the county’s young talent.”
Founded in 1979, the youth orchestra, which features members from across the county aged 14 to 21, has built up an international reputation and performed at leading venues in the UK and Europe under the stewardship of conductor Colin Metters.
The summer concerts will be held at Arundel Cathedral on Saturday 27 July 2013 at 7pm and at the De La Warr Pavilion on Sunday 28 July 2013 at 3.30pm.
Tickets for the Arundel concert, organised in conjunction with lifeboat charity the RNLI, are priced £10, or £5 for students up to the age of 16, and are available on the door.
Meanwhile tickets for the De La Warr Pavilion concert, promoted by the Friends Of East Sussex Youth Orchestra, are priced £10, £6 for OAPs and students and £2 for under-16s and can be obtained online at the De La Warr Pavilion website or by calling 01424 229111.
More information about the East Sussex Music Service is available online on the county council website or by calling 01273 336770.