MUSICAL events run throughout Burley Summer Festival which takes place from August 18th to August 27th with classical music ones on the first and last Saturday evenings.

On August 18th the Wharfedale Chamber Ensemble will be giving its annual Festival performance, conducted this year by Ben Crick, Artistic Director of Skipton Camerata, and led by Clare Richards. Their programme includes works by Mozart, Telemann, Nielsen and Elgar and will feature Issy Haley Porteous from Yorkshire Young Musicians as the soloist in Quant’s Flute Concerto in G major.

The ever-popular opera evening takes place on the second Saturday, August 25th. Festival Chair, Sylvia Tilford, says that the Festival is delighted to welcome back Opera North singers Rachel Luxon (Soprano), Katie Walker (Mezzo), Ivan Sharpe (Tenor) and Dean Robinson (Bass), accompanied this year by Philip Voldman.

The evening will include complete scenes from well- loved operas including La Traviata, La Bohème and The Marriage of Figaro plus a selection of arias and duets from across the operatic spectrum. Both these concerts take place in Burley Methodist Church.

The Festival also offers opportunities to come and sing. On Sunday August 19th Churches Together in Burley will again be holding a Songs of Praise style service in Grange Park to which all are invited. You can singalong to ‘The Sound of Music’ on Friday, or join in with Goldies Sing Along Group on Thursday. On Thursday Ladies Please Choir, with soloist Lucy Clarke, will be singing to support the Burley-Tereli Friendship Trust on Thursday evening.

Music in the Park is a feature of the first weekend in the Festival with the Anchor Band on Saturday and Silsden Town Band on Sunday, preceded by the ever popular Burley Ukulele Jammers.

For those who like to dance Saturday August the 18th offers the perfect opportunity when Mirage, a premier Yorkshire function band from Harrogate, will be playing at the 10th Anniversary Festival Celebration.

Local group the Con-Men will be appearing at the Social Club on Thursday when the evening will include the Festival Quiz.

There will be live music at the Red Lion both weekends in the Festival and children’s events offer singing, dancing, drama and djembe drumming.

Many events are free. Tickets for evening and other events can be obtained through the Festival website www.burleysummerfestival.org or from Burley library on Mondays between 2pm and 4pm and Saturdays from 10am to 12noon and from the Roundhouse during the Festival.

The full Festival programme can also be found on the Festival website.