THE Britten Sinfonia Soloists will be performing at Ely Cathedral on Saturday in a special concert to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the Diocese and the Ely Standard has three pairs of tickets to give away to three lucky readers. The evening is full

THE Britten Sinfonia Soloists will be performing at Ely Cathedral on Saturday in a special concert to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the Diocese and the Ely Standard has three pairs of tickets to give away to three lucky readers.

The evening is full of local flavour as it features the second only ever performance of Songs for Mendham by Ely composer. Paul Trepte based on poems written by local author, Dennis Pye. The songs will be performed by Lita Manners, the internationally renowned mezzo-soprano, who is based in Suffolk.

Songs for Mendham by Paul Trepte, director of music at Ely Cathedral, was composed by Paul during his sabbatical in 2006 and premiered in September 2007. Paul has deep rooted local connections having been organists and director of music at St Edmundsbury, has lived in Southwold and directed at the Alderburgh Festival.

"It is a delight to have the opportunity of hearing Songs for Mendham performed in Ely Cathedral, my musical home. This very special place is always an inspiration and by adding to this programme the works of Schubert, Deubussy & Strauss, we have created a wonderful musical treat."

The Britten Sinfonia Soloists are based in Cambridge and feature some the UK's most talented and creative musicians. As an orchestra they perform in many of Europe's finest concert halls and festivals including the BBC Proms, Latitude, the City of London Festival and venues such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Madrid's Auditorio Nacional, Glyndebourne and London's Barbican Centre. The group enjoys a blossoming international profile, a recent highlight being an acclaimed tour of South America. Britten Sinfonia are well published in the music press and frequently heard on national radio including BBC Radio 3.

The second half of the concert features the ever popular Schubert Octet in F. The piece is one of the defining masterpieces of early Romanticism and was commissioned by the renowned clarinetist Ferdinand Troyer. The Octet one of Schubert's best known and well loved pieces of music.

A highlight of the evening will be a pre-concert talk in the cathedral at 7pm about the Songs for Mendham with the composer Paul Trepte and the poet Denis Pye.

Tickets are priced at �20, �15, �10 and �5 and will be available on the door or in advance from the Cathedral box office at 01353 660349 or online at www.cathedral.ely.anglican.org

HOW TO ENTER

To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets for this concert, answer this question.

In what year did Paul Trepte write Songs for Mendham?

Please email your answer to: editor@ely-standard.co.uk

Closing date is Friday, May 22 at 10am.

Entrants must include a daytime telephone as the winners will be telephoned on Friday and asked to pick up their tickets on the door on the night of the event.