THE Westmorland Youth Orchestra returns to the concert platform this month for its much awaited summer show.

Having amazed the audience with their recent complete performance of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony, WYO director Roland Fudge's talented young instrumentalists will again show their mastery of epic Russian works by playing Sheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov on Saturday, June 27 (7.30pm) at Kendal Parish Church.

The immensely popular and colourful classic, inspired by The Arabian Nights, includes a ravishing solo violin part, which will be played by the orchestra’s leader, Freya Rock.

Freya, 17, has been playing the violin since she was six and this is her sixth and final year in WYO.

The Queen Elizabeth School student is off to study law next year, but plans on joining plenty of music groups at university.

Freya says that this year the WYO's repertoire was more adventurous: "Last term we played Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony which was a huge success and a great achievement for the orchestra. This concert we're tackling Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherezade, perhaps an even more challenging work and one of the most beautiful, evocative pieces I have ever heard.

"It follows the story of the Arabian Nights and features a solo violin part, representing the character of Scheherezade, which I'm honoured to be performing. On behalf of everyone, I'm really grateful to Roland for enabling us to play music of this level of challenge."

The parish church concert is also the last WYO appearance for principal clarinettist, Jack Horrocks, who will be jazzing it up in Gershwin’s Walking the Dog, written for the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Shall We Dance?

The programme also includes music from The Lord of the Rings and the famous opening of Richard Strauss’s Zarathustra, used to great effect in 2001 A Space Odyssey, a terrific curtain raiser for WYO's last concert of its season.

That's after Stella Foxcroft's WYO Brass Group have played everybody into their seats from 7pm with welcome music.

Tickets available at the door.