MORE than 250,000 children are aiming to raise £1m by taking part in a unique musical project uniting children of all races and backgrounds.

The Romany Wood Sing for Children project is a national event based in and organised from Worcester that gets under way this month.

Romany Wood, a piece written to appeal to children, has been called England's answer to Peter And The Wolf, the Prokofiev classic that has taught generations of children about the orchestra.

It was first performed to an audience of 4,000 in Hagley Park, in 2002, when the compère was comedian Jasper Carrott and the narrator BBC journalist Adrian Chiles.

Further packed out performances in Worcester Cathedral in 2004 and Birmingham Symphony Hall convinced the composer David Gaukroger and David Carr, who wrote the words, that the work had the potential to introduce children of all races and backgrounds to classical music.

Mr Gaukroger said: "It was written to raise money and interest kids in classical music.

"When it was successful in rural Worcestershire and the urban areas of Birmingham we realised its potential to bring together children from all sorts of backgrounds.

"We are aiming the project at schools, churches, choirs and orchestral societies but everybody can join in."

The writers have given the rights of Romany Wood to charity and hope the piece will be performed in schools, churches and concert halls throughout the UK.

There is no charge to take part in the project and performances can be with a live orchestra, or with orchestral backing tracks. There is also a rehearsal CD available.

Participating groups are asked to donate half of the money received from concerts to the Romany Wood Charitable Trust.

For more information on how your school, choir or organisation can take part in the project, log on to www.

romanywood.co.uk.