THE well-established Dore Abbey Music Festival, now in its 11th year, has reached new heights by attracting a galaxy of international musicians.

The festival opens on Friday, June 24, at 7.30pm with a celebrity recital by Emma Kirkby and Anthony Rooley. Their performance, Orpheus and Corinna, will be based on the classical tradition in 17th century England.

On Saturday, June 25, at 11.30am, the St George's Occasional Singers from Lancashire will be giving a concert of Motets and Part Songs in Kilpeck's Norman Church.

That evening the Craswall Players, under the baton of Sam Laughton, will be presenting two classics by Haydn and Mozart, alongside two 20th century American pieces.

The soloist will be the young Dutch cellist Martijn Vink, who played the Shostakovitch concerto for Craswall in 2001.

The concert will open on a bright and vigorous note, with Mozart's Symphony No 29, followed with Haydn's Cello Concerto in C, a delightful and tuneful piece rediscovered in 1961, when it became an instant favourite.

Stravinsky was heavily influenced by Bach and in his well-loved concerto grosso Dumbarton Oaks, Stravinsky pays homage to the Brandenburg Concertos.

The concert will end on a mesmerizing note, with Charles Ives' 3rd Symphony, known as The Camp Meeting. Fragments of hymn tunes and folk songs provide material for a masterpiece from this father of American music, who was eventually awarded the Pullitzer Prize for this work.

The Craswall concert will be followed by Compline with the St Georges Occasional Singers, who will be the choir for Holy Communion at 11.30am on Sunday, June 26.

The now traditional Schools' Prom will be final performance on Sunday at 2.30pm.

This year it will be given by young musicians from The Hereford Cathedral School and the Hereford Junior Singing Club.

There will be several soloists in their programme, including the gifted violinist Harriet Stock. Harriet, now a Sixth Former at the Cathedral School, started to play the violin shortly before her fourth birthday and was a pupil at the Yehudi Meuhin School from the age of seven.

She will be playing music by De Falla, Kreisler, Massenet, Monti and Gershwin.

For details contact 01981 570251 or visit www.doreabbey.org.uk