FIGURATIVELY speaking, if there's such as thing as 'choral heaven' then our region must be a strong contender.

For quality, our choirs, choral societies and choral concerts take some beating.

Lake District Summer Music runs from Saturday, July 30 until August 12, and among its 45 events in 16 venues spread across South Lakeland, will be a momentous and magical choral occasion.

More than 150 singers gather at Kendal Parish Church on the opening night (July 30, 7.30pm) of this year's fortnight-long LDSM for Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius.

It will be the much-awaited inaugural concert for Cumbria Festival Chorus, a large-scale, countywide choir drawn from all communities in Cumbria and beyond.

CFC is open without audition to all enthusiastic singers committed to developing the rich heritage of the British choral tradition. Under the guiding hand of consummate choral director Ian Jones, its aims include encouraging young people to continue an interest in choral singing after leaving school, provide a platform for young soloists and instrumentalists to make great music and widen and explore the repertoire of larger-scale choral and orchestral music

Ian explained that CFC is, simply put, a merger of Cumbria Choral Initiative with the 'choral' concert side of the prestigious Mary Wakefield Westmorland Music Festival. He added that since many of the same people were involved in the running of both organisations and the choral concert was always a huge drain on the resources of the MWF, it made sense to create a new body which will maintain the aims and objectives of both CCI and the MWF and allow the adjudicated festival part of the MWF to develop unhindered by the need to be running and financing a hugely expensive choral concert.

He added: “Those of us involved in running CCI and the choral concert for the MWF felt that too much effort was being duplicated and that it would make much more sense to merge and create a new body.”

Hence, Cumbria Festival Chorus was born with Ian at the helm.

Elgar’s piece will star a terrific trio of soloists, Joshua Ellicott and Alex Ashworth - both well known internationally - and sought after mezzo-soprano Joyce Tindsley, who will be stunning as the Angel in Elgar’s piece.

Also sharing the spotlight will the excellent award-winning Amabile Girls Choir - celebrating their 20th birthday this year - plus the Northern Chamber Orchestra.

Joyce was born in Lancashire and works regularly for the BBC. In 2011 she was the soloist in Karl Jenkins' Stabat Mater, performing with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra at various venues, and in 2012 performed Jenkins’ The Armed Man at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Joyce said she was delighted to have been asked to sing the role of the Angel. She added: "The Dream is widely considered to be Elgar’s finest choral work and the Angel sings music of incredible power and beauty as she guides Gerontius. It employs great forces – a huge choir, semi-chorus, large orchestral forces and three soloists. As a teenager I was a member of my local choral society, Preston Cecilians, and The Dream was the first choral work I took part in as a member of the chorus.

"Over the years I have taken part in many concerts in Cumbria, from Messiah at Windermere and Kirkby Stephen to Britten’s Noye’s Fludde at Carlisle Cathedral, Beethoven at Cartmel Priory to Dvorak in Kendal. The Cumbrian audiences have always been warm and very appreciative."

Joyce - who lives at Burscough, near Southport - has a local family connection: "My grandmother and family lived in Over Kellet, an uncle and aunt lived in Borwick, two great aunts lived in Yealand Conyers and Burton-in-Kendal; so many family holidays were spent in this area as a child.

Lake District Summer Music is without doubt one of the top music festivals in the UK.

For full details of the 2016 festival contact box office 01539-742621 or go online at www.ldsm.org.uk.