THE National Centre for Early Music is introducing a new £10 ticket offer for seven of its spring and summer concerts in York.

“I hope people will pick up the brochure and say, ‘Great! £10! I’ll try one of those concerts’,” says director Delma Tomlin.

“We’re also recognising the complicated financial times we’re all in; we’re saying ‘Take a punt, take a chance – and be pleasantly surprised’.”

The £10 shows at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, will begin on February 19 with the SambaSunda Quintet, whose 7.30pm concert is part of the Making Tracks travelling programme that brings new music from around the world to 12 British music venues. At the heart of their music is a kacapi, a mellifluous boat-shaped zither.

The SambaSunda Quintet’s visit also will mark the start of a new partnership with York St John University, under which the university has provided funding for workshops with visiting musicians.

“The SambaSunda musicians will be staying on the next day to host a workshop with students on the world music course, who have the chance to meet and hear artists of an exceptional quality,” says Delma.

The £10 ticket offer also will apply to concerts by Get The Blessing on March 23; Double Duo, April 14; Jonathan Gee and Larry Bartley, April 22; Kate Williams and Bobby Wellins, May 20; Julaba Kunda, June 7; and Joe Stilgoe, June 24.

Gee and Bartley, Williams and Wellins and Stilgoe each will fill the NCEM’s successfully revived Sunday afternoon slot at 4pm; the rest will start at 7.30pm.

Get The Blessing, BBC Jazz Award winners in 2008, include Portishead drummer Clive Deamer in their line-up and will be promoting their latest album, OC:CD, whose influences range from Ornette Coleman and Tortoise to Blondie and Samuel Beckett.

Double Duo, another Making Tracks touring act, will present Double Conversations for Oud & Percussion, led by Khyam Allami, a London musician of Iraqi descent. His new work, developed for this tour, is based on the “double duo” concept, which finds him working with Palestinian oud player Ahmad Al-Khatib, Trio Joubran percussionist Youssef Hbeisch and Italian drum master Andrea Piccioni.

Jazz pianist Jonathan Gee will be performing with double bass player Larry Bartley after earlier collaborations with British trumpet player Jay Phelps and American saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, along with a previous appearance at the NCEM with saxophonist Tony Kofi.

Kate Williams is the jazz pianist/composer daughter of guitarist John Williams and will perform jazz standards and originals from her new album recorded with sax player Bobby Wellins, who appeared on Stan Tracey’s Under Milk Wood album of the late 1960s.

World music duo Julaba Kunda comprises fiddler and nyckelharpa player Gris Sanderson, from Scotland, and vocalist and one-stringed fiddle player Juldeh Camara, from Gambia. They will be playing music from the West African desert and Scottish crofts and dancehalls, as heard on their debut album, Traders.

Joe Stilgoe follows his songwriter father Richard in playing the piano. In Joe’s case, the pianist/singer favours jazz, and last year’s debut album, I Like This One, has drawn comparison with Nat King Cole, Harry Connick Jr and Buddy Greco.

The NCEM’s new season will open on February 11 with a Lieder Day with tenor James Gilchrist, baritone Stephan 9 Loges, pianist Peter Seymour and the University of York Chamber Choir from 10.30am to 7pm.

• For tickets, phone 01904 658338 or book online at ncem.co.uk

Only One Question for… SambaSunda Quintet member Ismet Ruchimat

How would you describe the SambaSunda Quintet to someone who doesn’t know anything about Indonesian music, Ismet?

“It’s important to remember that Sundanese music is easy to listen to, because many elements will sound familiar to the audience, even to an audience who has never heard or seen this music.

“Sundanese music has familiar rhythms, tones and scales and we have specific characteristics that I’m sure everyone will understand, even if they can’t understand our language. I guarantee that people can understand the music; everyone can understand what we play.

“We mix the lyrics up a bit. Some lyrics talk about sorrow and heartbreak, sometimes the stories are about the connection between human beings and nature, and between man and God, about being grateful to nature, and to God. Some songs are love stories, and some are about social commentary.”