TELEVISION newsreader John Suchet will be among the highlights of the second Chipping Campden music festival this summer.

The programme for the festival, which runs from June 29-July 5, includes more concerts in more venues.

There is also an increased emphasis on education, with opportunities for young people to learn more about music and ticket prices for children set at £1 for every performance.

John Suchet will be taking to the stage to perform The Last Master, a work of comedy, drama and music based on the life of Beethoven.

The newsreader has become a leading expert on the life and music of the composer and his talk, accompanied by a piano trio, is a follow-up to a fictional biography of Beethoven.At the end of the evening he will be available to sign copies of his three-volume best-seller, The Last Master.

Other highlights include performances by Richard Meyrick, the Miraculum Choir from Hungary, the Medici String Quartet, the City of London Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Organiser Charlie Bennett said the event would be building on the philosophy of last year's inaugural festival. "It was a real gamble last year as we had no grants or funding. We expected to run at a loss but we just broke even. So this year we are planning an even bigger event."

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