ALL things being equal there shouldn't be an empty seat for the final performance in the Lakeland Sinfonia Concert Society season.

The concert has everything: one of the finest orchestras in the UK, the BBC Philharmonic, an internationally acclaimed conductor in Sir Andrew Davis, and a soloist who has established herself as one of the most exciting musicians performing today, Jennifer Pike.

What a way to bring the curtain down on another five star LSCS series.

Jennifer has pretty much taken the classical music world by storm and is in great demand as soloist and recitalist far and wide.

One of the leading violinists of her generation, in 2002 she was the youngest ever winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year at the age of 12, and, for the many who've seen her perform, her technique is simply spectacular and up there with the supreme Nicola Benedetti.

According to Classic FM, Jennifer is a musician of "dazzling interpretative flair and exemplary technique."

Watching her is spellbinding.

Equally entertaining, Andrew Davis is on the podium for the Saturday, April 27, concert at Kendal Leisure Centre's Westmorland Hall.

Through his prolific recordings, his many international tours, and guest appearances and relationships with several of the finest orchestras and opera companies in Europe, North America and Australia, the noble knight of classical music is one of the most recognised and acclaimed conductors around today.

He's currently director of the Chicago Lyric Opera, chief conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and frequent star of the Last Night of the Proms.

Born in 1944 in Hertfordshire, Andrew studied at King's College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar before taking up conducting. His amazing repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary, and spans the symphonic, operatic and choral worlds. Sir Andrew is a great proponent of 20th Century works including those by Janáček, Messiaen, Boulez, Elgar, Tippett, and Britten, in addition to the core symphonic and operatic works. As chief conductor, Sir Andrew has always participated in the creation and premieres of new repertoire and new compositions, personally conducting a great number of them.

Based at MediaCityUK in Salford, the BBC Philharmonic ranks among Europe’s finest orchestras and performs an annual season of concerts at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. Well known for its innovative and versatile music-making, its adventurous approach to programming places new and neglected music in the context of the established classical canon.

The April 27 programme is an attractive and innovative programme of Russian and Finnish music.

Sibelius’ lyrical and relatively gentle sixth symphony is something of an enigma; the Finnish composer described the symphony as "the purest spring water."

Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto follows on, one of the most spectacular and virtuosic in the repertoire. Tchaikovsky had fled to western Europe to escape from his disastrous marriage, and the concerto was written in Switzerland. It was not initially all that well received, arousing some very sharp criticism. However, these days the piece is a firm favourite and now among the most frequently played of concertos. It is strongly influenced by Russian folksong and, perhaps once violinists had achieved the level of virtuosity that it demands, its essentially lyrical nature shone through.

The programme continues with another Russian composer, though a much more cosmopolitan one: Igor Stravinsky. After bursting onto the musical scene before the First World War with his three great groundbreaking ballets, Firebird, Petrushka and the Rite of Spring, in the post war period Stravinsky changed tack and began to compose in what became known as a neo-classical style, a return to classical forms, most obviously the four movement symphony. His Symphony in C is a late example, first performed in 1940 and apparently written at a time of great personal tragedy. Started in Paris and finished in California, Stravinsky said the first two movements were European and the second two American. Though the form may be classical, the symphony is full of quirky tunes, driving rhythms and colourful orchestration.

Finally, back to Sibelius and his famous Finlandia.

Actually a short tone poem about the Finnish struggle to overcome Russian domination, it builds to a rousing climax, with a stirring nationalistic hymn.

All in all, a breathtaking concert fit for the world stage.

To book tickets telephone 0333-666-3366.