THE Westmorland Orchestra returns to the concert platform next week performing the curtain raiser for another Mary Wakefield festival of musical excellence.

Two years since the last Mary Wakefield Westmorland Music Festival, the Westmorland opens the 2017 gathering - the festival's 71st - at Kendal Leisure Centre's Westmorland Hall on Saturday, March 18 (7.30pm).

The 'wonderful' Westmorland's performance features gifted trumpet player Gideon Brooks as soloist, alongside a lively Schumann overture and Beethoven’s ground-breaking Eroica symphony.

Gideon is a postgraduate student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As well as having shared the stage with several professional orchestras across Britain, he's taken part in masterclasses with many notable players and performed in front of the Queen in 2012.

Gideon will perform Hummel's Trumpet Concerto.

The concert will open with Schumann’s Scherzo and Finale overture, a playful, complex work, with the Westmorland conducted by Richard Howarth and led by Pamela Redman.

Tickets are available from Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre or orchestra members.

The Mary Wakefield Westmorland Music Festival's adjudicated classes also start on March 18 with a recently introduced event, the Rock, Pop and Jazz Fun Day at the Music Suite at Queen Katherine School, in partnership with the Community Music Centre. Leader for the day will be Geoff Orr of Kendal College, who will listen to young drummers, guitarists, vocalists and groups, and make constructive comments about their performances.

The festival's more formal classes begin on the Monday (March 20), with instrumental classes morning and afternoon at Kendal Town Hall. Classes then move to Kendal’s United Reformed Church, when on Monday evening four youth choirs and five adult choirs compete for some of the festival’s glittering silverware.

Tuesday and Wednesday sessions (March 21/22) are devoted to young singers, with vocalists performing in solo classes, duets, and the more experienced performers in a recital class. A popular class is Songs from the Shows for students in school years seven to nine, with 25 entries.

The youngest entrants, from years three to six, perform on the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, alongside a class for composers.

The adjudicators are Daniel Chandler for some of the instrumental classes, and Steven Roberts for the remainder of the week’s events. Four accompanists will share piano duties - Ian Pattinson, David Battersby, Richard Bromley and Mary Powney, festival chairman and one of the region's most influential and inspiring musical figures.

Members of the public are welcome to all sessions, with tickets available on the day at £2 per session.

Among the many must-attend events are Friday's (March 24) Festival Showcase Concert at Kendal Town Hall (7pm), starring some of the best performers of the week plus the final of the Jim Noble Award; the best solo performance of the week receives an award of £500.

Concluding what promises to be another amazing week-long festival, is the Choral Celebration Day at St Thomas’s Church, Kendal, on Saturday, March 25, led by Rachael Lee, director of the Rushley Singers.

Filled with the heavenly vocal harmonies of eight thrilling local choirs, each will give a 20-minute presentation of some of their joyous music.

For further festival details visit www.mwwf.org.uk.