NUMBERS are marginally down this year for the six day Skipton Music Festival which strikes-up in Skipton Town Hall on Monday, March 13.

Disappointment for the organisers is the scrapping of the guitar classes - forced on them by a lack of entries, says secretary Jill Wright.

"Where have all the budding players gone gone? It's a shame. I hope this is a one off and that we will see a resurgence next year," she said.

"But on the positive side we have good strong string sections and some good vocal classes and junior and senior choirs.

"And we are very lucky in Skipton to have such a strong musical culture which we also want to reflect especially as we lead up to our centenary in 2020."

The success of the festival depended very much on the volunteers who were prepared to get involved behind the scenes to make the event a success.

"We'd welcome more help and appeal to people to contact us. It's immensely satisfying to see young performers on stage. And people don't need musical expertise to get involved - I'm not a musician," said Mrs Wright.

Grades were given and trophies awarded but the emphasis was on performance in front of an appreciative audience, the learning of stagecraft and the developing of confidence in each performer, she added.

The festival - the 97th - will conclude on Saturday evening with a gala concert showcasing all that is best among the young musicians of Craven.

Each session - there are none on Thursday afternoon - is held in Skipton town hall and is open to the public. To view the schedule, visit skiptonmusicfest.co.uk.

A day tickets is £2.50 and £6.00 secures entry for the week, excluding the Saturday evening concert which costs £5.00 a ticket.

Patronage which brings free entry for everything, plus a programme, is £20.00, minimum, a person.