I am one of the trustees of the Furness Music Centre. We are a Community Group with an orchestra of around 50 and a choir of 35. Our members’ ages range from 8-80 years old, with some highly qualified musicians, learners and beginners.

We were interested in the column you wrote in The Mail recently about the lack of music provision for school-age children. We do have a section offering tuition and the loan of an instrument for primary school pupils. It is a fairly new venture, based in Ulverston at the moment, using two primary schools.

We would like to extend an invitation to you to come along to our Spring Concert at the Victory Hall, Broughton on Saturday, March 16, at 7.30pm where you will see our Training Orchestra and the full orchestra and choir. Our youngsters will show their progress. We already incorporate a number of young people in the main orchestra, together with young singers in the choir.

Our programme is a light-hearted mix of popular classics and film music guaranteed to entertain. The Orchestra will showcase film music from The Gladiator by Hans Zimmer, Schubert’s Minuet from Symphony No.5, Libertango by Piazolla and A Taste of the Isles, arr. By Kenneth Gaw.

The choir will sing a medley from Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Barbara Ann, Goodnight Sweetheart, and Vivaldi’s Sprint. The finale, when choir and orchestra perform together will be songs from Laurel & Hardy films and a version of Bring Me Sunshine.

If you are interested further, we could arrange for you to look in on our Junior FMC at their sessions. I enclose a bit more detail of this venture. We have had some funding from the Cumbria Music Hub and the wind farm Orsted, and we are a registered charity.

Please contact me on sheilapriceless@gmail.com or 01229-827369 and I will be pleased to give you any more information I can.

Sheila Price, the Trustees of the Furness Music Centre