THIS year's Lake District Summer Music is coming up fast.

Celebrating its 34th year, the prestigious musical gathering runs from July 28 until August 10, with 44 events in 11 venues spread across South Lakeland: from Ulverston to Kirkby Lonsdale and umpteen places in between.

With its heart in chamber music, there is something to suit all tuneful tastes in the 2018 festival: orchestral, choral, solo recitals, opera on film, masterclasses, early music, world music, popular pieces and new works, jazz and much more.

Highly thought of artistic director and festival founder Renna Kellaway has worked her magic once again attracting top players and some of the best young talents around; many firm favourites alongside plenty of fresh faces.

LDSM 2018 opens on Saturday, July 28 (7.30pm) at Ulverston's Coronation Hall with the Northern Chamber Orchestra directed by Nicholas Ward and soprano Ailish Tynan.

The programme includes the pomp and pageantry of Handel's Water Music Suite and a poignant work originally written by the late great Sir John Manduell as a tribute to one of the UK's best quartet leaders, director of chamber music at the Royal Northern College of Music, inspirational violinist, Christopher Rowland, who died in 2007.

Reworked at the request of Kent Nagano from quartet to full strings, Elegy for Strings now serves as a homage to Sir John, whose generous support and enthusiasm has benefitted LDSM enormously since its began.

Leading Irish soprano Ailish comes to LDSM for the first time, and her effervescent character ideally suits Mozart’s popular motet. Also included is a little-known Mozart aria that highlights this year's featured instrument in the festival programmes, the bassoon; it's a reworking from Ilia’s aria Se il padre perdei in Idomeneo.

Ambleside-based international bassoonist Ursula Leveaux will play the obbligato part.

Sir John, one of the festival's founders along with his wife Renna, is fondly remembered in what would have been his 90th year with several of his compositions.

The middle festival weekend focuses on Beethoven with talks, a screening of Fidelio, string quartets from the early, middle and late periods and the birth of the song cycle with the rarely-heard An die ferne Geliebte.

Among the must-see performances celebrating the genius of the German composer will be the illustrious Chilingirians Quartet. The fabulous foursome performs on Saturday, August 4 at Ambleside Parish Church (7.30pm); the day after (Sunday, August 5) violinist Levon Chilingirian teams up with another prominent musician, pianist Carole Presland at Ambleside Parish Centre, playing a selection of Beethoven's sonatas.

New to LDSM this year is the Festival Debut Concerts strand featuring the first UK performances of a string trio from The Netherlands, Estonia and Spain, a string quintet from Flanders, and pianists from a Romania and Norway, as well as young musicians from across the UK.

LDSM marks the end of the First World War with a screening of the first anti-war film, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to an improvised organ accompaniment, performed at St George's Church, Kendal on Sunday, July 29 (7.30pm). The film turned the then-little-known actor Rudolph Valentino into a superstar and was also apparently the first movie to feature the tango.

Also at St George's, on Friday, August 3 (7.30pm), England's greatest composer, Henry Purcell, is brought to life in a compelling music theatre work featuring more than 20 of his works performed by early music group Ceruleo and actor Simon Cole. Burying the Dead is penned by playwright and soprano Clare Norburn, who also wrote LDSM 2016's hugely successful Breaking the Rules.

Another festival highlight promises to be the long-awaited and exciting return to LDSM by the star Navarra Quartet performing at Kendal's St Thomas's Church on Monday, August 6 (8pm) and on Wednesday, August 8 (7.30pm) at Ambleside Parish Church with bassoon player, Catriona McDermid and cellist Guy Johnston.

Equally, the final day of the festival sounds as thrilling (Friday, August 10) with percussionist Simone Rebello performing at Ambleside Parish Church (11am) followed at the same venue (7.30pm) by the National Youth String Orchestra's first appearance at LDSM conducted by Damian Iorio with violinist Mathilde Milwidsky as soloist.

For copies of the Lake District Summer Music festival diary telephone 01539-742620, go online at www.ldsm.org.uk or call into the festival office at Stricklandgate House, 92 Stricklandgate, Kendal.