Music Day at Buckingham Palace

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS ISSUED BY THE PRESS SECRETARY TO THE QUEEN

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are to host a Music Theme Day at Buckingham Palace on 1 March 2005. The day will feature a concert by children, for children, with performances from a number of youth music organisations and schools.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will also give an Evening Reception to recognise the excellence of British Music and the contribution it makes to the culture and economy of the UK.

Approximately 500 guests will be in attendance including Eric Clapton, Jamie Cullum, Phil Collins, Dame Vera Lynn, Brian May, Jools Holland, Bryn Terfel, Humphrey Lyttleton, Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Terry Wogan. Names recently confirmed include Paul Gambaccini, Pete Tong, Pete Waterman and Michael Evis.

The audience at the morning concert will be made up of 250 school children and teachers from five London boroughs: Haringey, Ealing, Lewisham, Barking and Dagenham and Southwark, alongside choristers from the Chapel Royal and representatives from the performing organisations.

Katie Melua will be performing as a graduate of the BRIT School for the Performing Arts and Technology.

Two short Scottish pieces by The Master of The Queen's Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, are to be performed by students from the Royal Academy of Music.

The concert will last for one hour, beginning at 11am. The Countess of Wessex, The Duchess of Gloucester and The Duke of Kent will all attend.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will give a reception for performers and guests following the concert.

The Music Reception and Theme Day are part of a series of theme days hosted by Her Majesty to promote and support different aspects of British culture and industry. Other theme days have included British Design, Women, Tourism, Young Achievers and Pioneers.

The programme for the concert is as follows:

Welcome by BBC presenter Stephanie Hughes

Fanfare

Students from Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Purcell School, with children from GSMD outreach programmes.

City of Birmingham Young Voices Choir

Sto Mi E Milo (Macedonian Village Song)

African Ensemble

Pupils from Pimlico School and students from SOAS, playing instruments like udu, djembe, mbira

Harmony by Eugene Skeef

City of Birmingham Young Voices Choir

African Ensemble

Organ Solo

Ian Tindale, pupil of the junior Royal College of Music

Strings Sextet

Two violins, two violas and two cellos from Yehudi Menuhin School, Chetham's, Wells Cathedral School and The National Youth Orchestra.

Performing a new piece especially composed by William Gibson from Trinity College Junior Conservatoire.

Directed by Tim Henty, postgraduate conductor, Royal College of Music

Wind Ensemble

Two Renaissance Scottish Dances by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, arranged by David Lawson from the junior Royal Northern College of Music, performed by the Omega Ensemble, Royal Academy of Music

Indian Ensemble

Pupils and teachers from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Institute for Indian art and culture

Katie Melua

Graduate of the BRIT School for the Performing Arts and Technology

Fanfare