Schools' orchestras reach finals of national competition in Birmingham, writes PETER CANN

Yet again young musicians from Oxfordshire have shown their talents by reaching the finals of the National Festival of Music for Youth competition. Four groups put forward by Oxfordshire County Council's County Music Service have been invited to perform in the week-long festival, which takes place this year in the Birmingham Symphony Hall from July 9 to 14.

The groups are the Oxfordshire Youth Percussion Quartet, the Oxfordshire Youth String Orchestra, the Central Music Sinfonia and the Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra.

Last year the Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra received an award at the festival. As a result they played at the Schools Proms last November and appeared on television accompanying Lord Winston in the programme Play it Again.

Richard Hallam MBE, Director of Music for the county council, said: "We are so thrilled that these groups from the Music Service will be representing the county yet again at such a high-profile national event. We wish them every success in July."

Last year's performance by the County Youth Orchestra was part of the Schools Proms event and included the 111 musicians performing Shostakovich's Festive Overture.

Lord Winston joined the orchestra to perform a piece entitled The Old Castle from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. It was filmed for the Play it Again series in which celebrities who used to play a musical instrument are given the chance to pick it up again.

The orchestra also had the honour of closing the second day of the event by performing Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Number 1.

The musicians are all aged between 14 and 21.

County Music Service fact file: Oxfordshire County Council's Music Service is recognised as one of the best in the country. The service involves some 30,000 young people each year, with almost 8,000 of them enjoying regular tuition in ensembles and choirs.

The numbers will rise now that more than 100 schools have taken up the opportunity of the Vocal and Instrumental Programme which enables any child in Year Three to learn an instrument. Summer is a busy time for teachers in the Music Service, with many organising school concerts, as well as musical events at the ten Saturday music schools around Oxfordshire.

Some of our instrumental and vocal groups are performing at the Oxford Preservation Trust concert tonight to celebrate 1,000 years of Oxfordshire.

There is also a special event, a musical garden party, on the afternoon of Saturday, June 30, at the council's Centre for Music, Bayards Hill, Headington.

It is officially opened by Colin Dexter and at 3pm, this will include large, massed string items and wind items, as well as items from a number of music schools. The afternoon will end with performances by the groups performing at the National Festival of Music for Youth event in Birmingham in July.

Find out more about the Music Service by visiting the website: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/musicservice