SCHOOLCHILDREN will perform a mini opera at the Ashmolean Museum as part of a major music festival.

The Oxford Lieder Festival, now in its 18th year, started on Friday and runs until Saturday, October 26.

As part of a schools project, dozens of pupils aged nine-11 have been creating their own music and lyrics, at workshops put on by the festival.

This year, 34 children from Year 6 at Caldecott Primary School in Abingdon, and 28 Year 5 pupils from the Europa School in Culham, took part.

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Their learning will culminate in a free public show at the museum on Thursday, as part of the festival programme.

Kate Swinburne-Johnson, learning and participation manager for the festival, said: "The depth with which the children approach the composition of text and music has grown steadily over the years.

“Creativity is at the heart of the project - the children are really encouraged to explore the relationship between words and music and the results are wonderful."

The schoolchildren have taken part in four workshop sessions in school in collaboration with professional writers and musicians.

They will perform their songs in a mini opera devised by composer John Webb, in the atrium of the Ashmolean, alongside a professional singer and pianist.

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The 25-minute concert is open to all and takes place at 4pm on Thursday.

Pupils explored the museum to chose objects to inspire the stories behind their songs.

Oxford Lieder Festival covered all costs involved, including transport to and from the museum.

Any primary schools in Oxford that would like to register an interest in participating in future projects can email info@oxfordlieder.co.uk.