SINCE it premiered at the reconsecration of bombed Coventry Cathedral, Britten’s War Requiem has won plaudits for its anti-war message.

Now about 500 Oxfordshire pupils will be guided through the components that make up the moving 85-minute piece to celebrate its 50th birthday.

Acclaimed young composer Mark Simpson will hold a workshop on Monday where he will explain the piece with the help of a full orchestra and choir.

Youngsters from Oxford’s Cherwell School and Abingdon’s St Helen & St Katharine School are among those set to attend.

The musicians – including talent from Oxford University – will then perform the work that evening in the Town Hall.

Benjamin Britten compiled the Requiem in 1962 for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral – destroyed in the Second World War.

It interweaves war poetry from Wilfred Owen with liturgy from the Requiem Mass and is seen as a potent statement against the horrors of war.

Mr Simpson, 23, who studied music at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, said: “Apart from it being one of the most powerful pieces ever, it resonates today because of its powerful message.

“If they can see how amazingly he can marry the ideas with music then that is what I am aiming for.”

The Liverpool-born conductor and clarinetist won the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2006 and said the concert would be his biggest to date.

He said: “It takes you through a gamut of emotions.

“The music lasts 85 minutes and within that there are so many styles and different types of music.

“It is incredibly hard to direct it but also amazingly powerful.”

And he said the themes that run through it are as relevant today as they were in the aftermath of the Second World War.

He said: “There is so much going on in the world, especially in the Middle East.

“It does still speak to those people who have pacifist tendencies and at least are interested in world affairs.”

* Tickets for the 7.30pm show – to feature more than 150 performers – are available from wegottickets.com/event/156348