MALVERN Concert Club has announced its 2001/2002 season of Thursday concerts at the Forum, Malvern Theatres.

This begins on September 20 when Czech chamber ensemble the kampa Quartet perform Mozart's Quartet in E Flat (K428), Beethoven's Quartet in B Flat and Quartet No 5 by Martinu.

On October 18, Noriko Ogawa will play a concert as part of the Japan 2001 Festival in Britain. The programme features Debussy's Estampes and Images Books I and II, Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky and Les Yeux Clos II by Takemitsu.

Soprano Evelyn Tubb and period instrumentalists Sprezzatura bring a programme of English song in the 17th Century to the stage on November 29, when they contrast the music of the brothers Henry and Daniel Purcell and Henry and William Lawes.

After the New Year, oboe soloist Douglas Boyd and the Vellinger Quartet perform a programme including the rare Bliss Oboe Quartet, Haydn's Quartet in A No 6, Mozart's Oboe Quintet in F (K370) and Quartet in C minor No 1 by Brahms on January 24.

In March, viola player Philip Dukes and pianist Sophie Rahman perform Schumann's Adagio and Allegro on the 7th, Viola Variations by Hugh Wood, Brahms' Sonata in E flat No 2, Prokofiev's Death of Juliet from Romeo and Juliet and Bloch's Suite.

The season is rounded off in May of 2002, when the English Horn Trio perform Debussy's Sonata for Violin and Piano, Michael Zev Gordon's Barcorola: Trio, Lennox Berkeley's Trio and the Trio in E Flat by Brahms on the 2nd.

It is nearly 99 years since Sir Edward Elgar founded the club and they are pleased to report continued success, with large and appreciative audiences. However, the costs of using international artists and a venue such as the Forum do not come cheap. The club enjoys support from a small number of local business patrons who receive season tickets and programme listings in return for a donation.

Ernest Kemp, who is now developing the scheme, said he would like to discuss with local businesses, shops, hotels and professional offices how the scheme can benefit them and the club. He can be contacted on 01886 833818.