THE Anthem For A Child music project will culminate in two concerts in York on Tuesday.

Run by the National Centre for Early Music, in Walmgate, and the University of York in tandem with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), the project has provided workshops and coaching days for children from Bootham Junior, Dringhouses, Dunnington and Heworth primary schools; York’s youth early music ensemble, the Minster Minstrels; and University of York students.

A training session for the students from the Music Education Group and teachers working alongside the OAE team took place last autumn, and on Tuesday (March 27) the primary school project will culminate in a concert – for the participating schools only - in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall at 1.30pm.

Later the same day, the University of York Baroque Ensemble and Chamber Choir will join the OAE in a celebratory public concert at the NCEM to mark the end of the orchestra’s tour.

A round of lively marches and fanfares will greet the audience in the foyer from 6pm before 6.30pm concert featuring Bach’s cantata Wachet Auf and Vivaldi’s Gloria.

It will end with a specially commissioned piece by James Redwood entitled My Cry, a song that celebrates the power of each individual singer and their combined power as a choir.

There will be an opportunity to meet the players at the end too. Tickets are available from www.ncem.co.uk.

The Minster Minstrels also will have the chance to participate in a workshop day with OAE players on Saturday, May 12. They will then take part in a concert in London on June 29, where they will perform by themselves and in a massed band with the OAE and secondary school groups from all over the country.

Delma Tomlin, director of the NCEM, said: “We are delighted to be working with the exceptional and inspiring forces of the OAE on a project which deftly spans three separate age groups. It will be thrilling to see the work develop across the next six months and follow the Minster Minstrels to London to represent our region at the final concert in June.”

Anthem For A Child sees the innovative OAE work across the country in nine locations, to bring a series of workshops, teacher training and concerts to more than 5,000 children, 300 secondary students and 200 university students of all ages.

The project aims not only to engage young people in musical activity, but also to leave behind a lasting legacy of enthusiasm and excitement for music and music making, to pass on the baton in sound.