THE European Union Chamber Orchestra is performing the keynote concert in this year's Autumn in Malvern Festival, now in its 27th year.

The festival. curated for all these years by musical director Peter Smith, each year brings eminent artists, musicians and writers to the town for a renowned series of concerts, talks and exhibitions.

The European Union Chamber Orchestra's concert, in the impressive setting of 11th-century Great Malvern Priory, launches the festival on Saturday, September 17.

The concert will feature soloist Hans-Peter Hofmann in Mendelssohn's rarely-performed Violin Concerto in D minor, as well as works by Bach, Faure, Mozart, Walton and Bartok.

In the Great Hall of Malvern College, the distinguished Tippett String Quartet will perform works by Dvorak, including his String Quartet in F major, The American, and his A major Piano Quintet with Emma Abbate on piano.

Acclaimed violinist Fenella Humphreys joins Malvern-based chamber choir Aldwyn Voices in the priory to present a programme of choral music and works for solo violin, including the world premiere of Elagie, commissioned by the festival from Scottish composer Rory Boyle.

The festival also features an eclectic programme of small-scale drama, illustrated talks, street events, exhibitions and educational projects.

One of the talks will be on the Malvern Conference of 1941, which saw the Archbishop of York, eminent clergymen and intellectuals meet at Malvern College in 1941 to expound their vision of a post-war society based on social justice and the unification of Europe as a cooperative commonwealth.

Alison Bevan, director of the Royal West of England Academy, will talk about Women of the West, highlighting the lives and work of women artists from Elizabeth Forbes and Laura Knight to Vanessa Bell and Rose Hilton, exploring their relationships with the wider world and their roles in breaking down the gender barrier to artistic recognition.

For full details of all the events, see malvernfestival.co.uk. Bookings start on Monday, August 1, with tickets available from the Malvern Theatres box office at Grange Road or on 01684 892277.