WITH Lake District Summer Music just a fortnight away, there's a real sense of excitement about this year's 30th anniversary season.

Making his UK festival debut will be Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko, winner of the gold medal at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

He will be flying in from France for a celebrity evening recital at Ambleside Parish Church on Sunday, August 2.

Kim Sargeant, general manager of Lake District Summer Music, described the pianist's programme as "very approachable", featuring works such as Medtner's Three Fairy Tales, and Brahms' Seven Fantasies, Op.116.

Meanwhile, making a welcome return to the festival are percussion quartet 4-MALITY, whose 2013 performance at The Box, Kendal, was a sell-out.

The rafters of Carver Church, Windermere, are expected to resonate to the sound of their marimbas, vibraphones, cymbals, tubular bells, scaffolding pipes, tam-tams, woodblocks, cowbells and drums on Wednesday, August 12.

Kim, a percussionist himself, heard the foursome perform in London just last weekend, and he told the Gazette: "I know it's going to be a knock-out concert. It was really good last time and we had lots of young people there. The more young people we can encourage, that's important to us."

The Apollo Saxophone Quartet shares its 30th anniversary with Lake District Summer Music, and the festival has commissioned a new work by Luke Bedford to toast this milestone, to be performed at Kendal Town Hall on Tuesday, August 4.

The quartet will also perform music they have composed to accompany the silent films of French cinema pioneer Georges Méliès. "Even for people who might think, this is not for me really, this is something very different and it's great fun," said Kim.

An unforgettable evening is also predicted at Kendal Town Hall on Friday, August 7, when 1928 silent film Joan of Arc is screened with a live performance of 15th century sacred and secular vocal music by the Orlando Consort.

Kim said the pairing of the film with music from the time of Joan of Arc would make for "a very, very special event - really quite magical".

Among three ensembles in residence at this year's festival is Berlin's Kuss Quartet. They open their residency at Ambleside Parish Church on Monday, August 3, with a programme of Mozart, Stravinsky and Beethoven. Look out for them at St Thomas's Church, Kendal, five days later with clarinettist Timothy Orpen.

Also in residence are festival favourites Trio di Palma and the Frith Piano Quartet.

Tickets from the box office at Stricklandgate House, Kendal, phone 01539-742621. www.ldsm.org.uk