CHARISMATIC pianist Emmanuel Vass has performed on the West End stage and for the Monaco royal family, and this summer he will bring his distinctive style of playing to Hawkshead Parish Church.

The concert by 24-year-old Vass on August 25 looks set to bring the village's Music for a Summer Evening season to a resounding close, but there are many treats to be enjoyed in the meantime.

Chris Sands and Elias Sibley will play their five-string banjo duets on Tuesday (July 14) and there will be English music from Duncan Honeybourne and Katherine Lamb on July 21.

Five in a Bar ladies a cappella singers take their turn on July 28, followed by pianist John Longley on August 4, with music from sacred, folk and jazz traditions.

The church hosts the Lake District Summer Music Concert on August 11, while organ and trumpet duo Charles Edmondson and Chris Andrews appear on August 18.

Colne Orpheus Glee Union, probably England's longest-established male voice choir, entertains on August 23, and Emmanuel Vass brings the 48th season to a close two days later, as part of his water-themed Sonic Waves tour.

- Concerts 8pm at the church, except August 23, starts 2.30pm. Admission free, retiring charity collection.