SETTLE Orchestra is about to embark on its celebratory 50th anniversary season with two concerts in the next ten days.

Rehearsals for the first concerts of the season began in September, under the baton of conductor Ola Ness.

The orchestra still includes three founder members from its first ever concert in December 1967, who include Dorothy Wrathall, Elizabeth Robertshaw and Julia Glossop.

But the orchestra has also long been associated with encouraging young players and has always had a healthy number of junior members (at present there are five).

Its first mission statement included the line “......especially to include young players learning instruments at school”. Indeed, when the half dozen players from the Settle Operatics orchestra decided they would like to carry on playing outside of 'show time', and formed the embryonic Settle Orchestra, players from Settle High School were invited to join, so there have been young players playing alongside the adults from the very beginning.

The programme for the first concerts of this celebratory season is very much in keeping with that very first mission statement, featuring young trumpet soloist Adam Stockbridge.

Former Settle Orchestra member Adam graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2015 and is now a postgraduate student at the college.

The orchestra is delighted to be working with Adam this term, when he will perform the Hummel Trumpet concerto.

The concerts are this Saturday at Settle College, and Saturday, November 26, at Christ Church, Skipton. Both performances begin at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £12 and are available from Cave and Crag, Bentham Post Office, Skipton Camera Centre, sarah.glossop@btinternet.com and on the door.