SCORES of talented performers will be descending on one of the area's largest arts and events venues next week for a grand gathering of the musical kind.

The 2017 South Cumbria Musical Festival runs from Sunday, April 2, until Saturday, April 8, raising the proverbial roof once again at Ulverston's Coronation Hall.

The festival opens with the highly-regarded brass classes featuring some of the region's finest ensembles and players, followed throughout the week by speech, piano, instrumental and vocals, and culminating on the Saturday with the thrilling Gala Night.

Speech classes on Monday include poetry, readings and acting; Tuesday is piano day and on Wednesday (April 5) it's the turn of recorder, woodwind and strings.

The entries for the string classes have seen a large increase this year.

School years' vocal classes take place during Thursday and Friday with morning and afternoon sessions; school choir classes take place on Thursday evening. Tickets are available but only from the participating schools.

Come Friday night and the adult vocal classes will be reverberating around the Coro, featuring songs from shows and folk songs along with other vocal categories.

Saturday morning sees performances from the choirs. This year's star turns will be two male voice choirs, two ladies choirs and a mixed voice, any age choir.

Finally, Saturday's Gala Night includes as usual performers from all disciplines from throughout festival week competing for a cash prize.

Also on the gala night bill will be Furness Music Centre Orchestra and saxophone quartet, Ragazza.

Sadly, this year's SCMF will miss the influential musical presence of Tony Milledge, the festival's official accompanist and one of the region's most respected musicians and conductors, who died in February.

Festival tickets are available by telephone on 01229-584653; from the Coronation Hall during festival week or by ringing 07773-403686 also during festival week.

Advance festival programmes are available from Ulverston Library and The Full Octave, Tudor Square, Dalton.