MUSIC by Michael Tippett and a performance of the unconventional Edith Sitwell and William Walton are among the highlights of this year’s North York Moors Chamber Music Festival.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the festival, which brings world class musicians to perform in churches across the North York Moors, focuses entirely on British composers, including, as well as Tippett and Walton, Kenneth Leighton, Edward Elgar, Frank Bridge and Henry Purcell.

The concerts take place in late August, a period chosen specifically by festival organiser and international cellist Jamie Walton to show the moors off to its best, when the heather is in bloom.

Jamie said: “I’ve chosen all British composers this year, our 10th birthday year, as people often ask me to feature more British music.

“We’re particularly thrilled to be presenting Michael Tippett’s overture to his opera, Robin Hood, in the village where it was written in 1934, Boosbeck, near Saltburn.”

The North York Moors Chamber Music Festival runs from August 12 to 25, with 11 concerts at churches across the area, including Pickering, Lastingham, Helmsley, Boosbeck, Egton Bridge, Danby, Fylingdales, Sneaton Castle, Lythe and Whitby.

For more information, phone 07722 038990, or visit northyorkmoorsfestival.com