THIS year's Skipton Music Festival will be spread across several venues.

Because of ongoing work at its usual town hall base, it has had to find alternative accommodation.

Now classes will be split between St Andrew's Church, Christ Church, Ermysted's Grammar School and Skipton Girls' High School.

"We have been bedevilled by the work being carried out on the town hall," said festival secretary Jill Wright.

Last year, we were limited by the number of people we were allowed in the hall. This year, because the building work is behind schedule, we have had to find alternative venues."

The festival will start on Monday, March 16, at 10.30am, with a Space-themed speech and drama session in St Andrew's Church.

The three classes have been arranged to encourage a wide variety of individuals and groups and adjudicator will be Sara Elson, head of drama at the Skipton Academy.

The week continues with the junior music section, which includes a mixture of piano, recorder, string, woodwind, brass and guitar classes. There are also several non-competitive sessions both for youngsters and adults.

Thursday evening features a wealth of vocal talent and Friday evening sees two recital classes, which are always a real treat.

The festival will end with a concert finale at Skipton Girls' High School on Saturday evening.

The music adjudicator is Jeffrey Wynn Davies, from Manchester. He initially trained as a singer before spending a number of years as a local education authority music adviser. His national reputation as a conductor includes winning the BBC Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year title with his chamber choir Canzonetta.

He also conducted Harrogate Choral Society between 1991 and 2005.

The festival timetable is:

Monday, March 16: morning - speech and drama, St Andrew’s Church; afternoon - piano and string solos, Ermysted’s; evening - composer, piano and non-competitive, Ermysted’s.

Tuesday, March 17: morning - guitar, brass, groups and ensembles, St Andrew’s; afternoon - piano: solo, duet and trio, Ermysted’s; evening - piano: solo, duet and trio, Ermysted’s.

Wednesday, March 18: morning - piano: solo, duet and trio, St Andrew’s; afternoon - woodwind, St Andrew’s; evening - piano: solo, duet and trio, Ermysted’s.

Thursday, March 19: morning - recorders, St Andrew’s; afternoon - junior vocal, St Andrew’s; evening - junior vocal, Skipton Girls’.

Friday, March 20: morning - woodwind, string and recorders, St Andrew’s; afternoon - junior choir, Christ Church; evening - jazz, instrumentalist and recital, Skipton Girls’.

Saturday, March 21: morning and afternoon - adult vocal, Skipton Girls’; evening - final concert, Skipton Girls’.

For more details, visit.skiptonmusicfest/venues.php