A community in the south of the county is preparing to welcome top quality musicians to their picturesque village

Music lovers in the village of Hinton St George organised a Festival in 2000 to celebrate the Millennium.

This ‘one-off’ was such a success that the event has returned every other year since, with an eclectic mix of music which makes this week-long festival distinctive.

From 3 – 7 June concerts will take place in St. George’s Church, a beautiful Grade One-listed building with fine acoustics.

The line-up includes New Orleans jazz, baroque concertos and traditional songs. As usual there is an evening (4 June) devoted to performances by talented young musicians. Encouraging music-making by young people of the area is one of the aims of Hinton St George Festival, a registered charity.

The other aim is to bring top quality music to this corner of rural Somerset. Festival Chairman Les Farris says: “The festival committee is pleased to confirm that, yet again, a series of performances has been arranged by musicians from very different traditions who share one particular quality, they are amongst the finest in their respective fields.

“A band with a difference starts the week with a high energy programme of New Orleans-style jazz. The Brass Volcanoes are widely considered to be the leading trad jazz band in London,” he says.

On 5 June a delightful evening of music for the flute and harp will be presented by Sarah Bennington and Fontane Liang with pieces by, amongst others, Bach and Mozart.

On 6 June it’s the turn of Teasing the Cat, a band playing traditional music from the UK and elsewhere on an astonishing range of instruments.

The Festival climaxes on the Saturday evening with a critically-acclaimed baroque ensemble from the Midlands making a rare visit to the West Country. Fiori Musicali will play well-loved concertos by Vivaldi, Handel and Bach.

The festival committee is grateful for the support of its regular supporters and also its sponsors whose generous support enables ticket prices to be kept at affordable levels.

For the full programme and to obtain tickets, please call the box office on 07500 532 543, email hintonfestival@hotmail.co.uk or visit hintonfestival.btck.co.uk