THE Autumn in Malvern Festival concludes next Sunday afternoon with a concert in Great Malvern Priory.

Entitled Music Inspired by Poetry, the programme includes choral works sung by Malvern's distinguished chamber choir, Aldwyn Voices, showing how 20th and 21st century composers have responded to poetry. The conductor is Adrian Lucas, musical director of the City of Birmingham Choir and a former organist at Worcester Cathedral and former artistic director of the Three Choirs Festival.

The organist is Piers Maxim, director of music at Great Malvern Priory and conductor of the Elgar Chorale and the London-based EC4 Orchestra.

The centrepiece of the programme is a performance of The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams.

The composition has links to the Malvern area, as when this work was premiered in 1920, the violinist was Marie Hall, who lived during her teenage years at Guarlford near Malvern and studied with Edward Elgar.

When her family was struggling financially, she would play her violin in Church Street and in local hotels to help make ends meet.

When Vaughan Williams returned from his service in the First World War, he sought her advice while writing The Lark Ascending, and dedicated the piece to her.

The violinist is Fenella Humphreys accompanied on the piano by Nicola Eimer.

The concert's programme also includes Salut d'amour and Chanson de nuit, by Elgar. It is at 3.30pm.

Peter Smith, founder and director of the festival, said: "The 28th festival has been a great artistic success with several events attracting capacity audiences.

"Alec Roth's new work with the tenor, Mark Padmore, received the top five-star rating in the regional press and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales concert, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 last week, was highly acclaimed."

Mr Smith said that plans for the 2018 festival are developing with several internationally-known artists already booked to appear next autumn.