A ROYAL visitor popped into a village hall in Ryedale to listen to some talented young musicians.

The Duchess of Kent attended the Ryedale Festival tea party at Kirkby Misperton Village Hall last Wednesday, where youngsters from Future Talent Champions played a special concert to a crowd of 100 people.

Future Talent Champions is a national charity dedicated to finding, funding and nurturing exceptionally talented young musicians, particulary those who grow up in areas of deprivation. The Duchess of Kent is one of the trustees.

Ken Overton, chairman of the Ryedale Festival, said: “The concert was fantastic and very emotional.

“Each of the young people who played have started to achieve, but haven’t reached the level where they are performing in concert.

“The Duchess was wonderful – she addressed us all and told everybody how important it was that young people were given the opportunity to perform in a festival setting.

“Performing to people they don’t know, in an unfamiliar environment, with adrenaline flowing through them really puts them on their mettle, but they have to be able to get over it.

“It is what professional performers have to do all the time.”

Mr Overton was particularly impressed by the performance of Toby Butt on the tuba.

The teenagers were all from the Manchester area, and Joy Becker, who started playing the violin at the age of five, is now playing in the Halle Youth Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester with the support of Future Talent Champions.

The Ryedale Festival, coordinated this year by artistic director Justin Doyle, has seen 43 events take place over two weeks.

Mr Overton says that the festival has really beaten the recession, with ticket sales up by eight per cent.

He said: “We kept our prices the same but we had a lot of additional prices, such as cheaper seats in the middle or back of the audience. This allowed people to spread their money further.”

The Festival culminated in a final performance at Hovingham Hall on Sunday, which was also beamed onto a cinema screen in a marquee at the Worsley Arms.

Hovingham Hall was the birthplace of the Duchess of Kent, who was born Katherine Worsley.