A SET of six chamber concerts in Ripon aims to not only inspire and connect audiences, but also to be a series accessible to all ages.

Ripon Concerts Society has announced its 2024-25 season, with all concerts now starting at 3pm on Sundays and free tickets for all under 18s and their accompanying adults.

The series launches on October 13 at Sharow Church with a performance ‘in the round’ by the emerging Treske Ensemble.

Originally from North Yorkshire but now based in Manchester, this young quartet will perform a programme of contrasting sound worlds, sandwiching the witty and irreverent 2015 work by Gabriella Smith ‘Carrot Revolution’ between two canonical quartets by Beethoven and Ravel.

Marking Remembrance Sunday, the second concert in the series on November 10 at Holy Trinity Church combines poetry and songs of remembrance. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage will be joined by the exceptional tenor Nicholas Watts and pianist David Cowan in a reflective programme exploring themes of war and peace with music by English composers including Britten and Vaughan Williams.

The society will ring in the festive season on December 3 with a performance by premier brass quintet, Prince Bishops Brass. They promise to raise the rafters of Holy Trinity Church with an entertaining programme from Bach to Boogie via Gershwin and Bernstein.

The first concert of the new year on January 12 at Holy Trinity Church will feature a performance by Jordanian-Palestinian international concert pianist Iyad-Sughayer, who will present an elegantly contrasting programme of Mozart, Sibelius and Khachaturian. Iyad was a Classic FM 2022 Rising Star artist.

An outstanding trio of international chamber musicians will deliver an emotionally stirring programme of Debussy Cello Sonata, Shostakovich piano trio no. 2 and the Tchaikovsky piano trio at Holy Trinity Church on February 9: violinist Jack Liebeck, who won a classical Brit Award in 2010, cellist Tim Lowe playing and pianist Katya Apekisheva.

The season concludes with a rousing finale by world music ensemble, ‘The Kosmos Trio’, comprising international violinist Harriet Mackenzie, viola player Meg-Rosaleen Hamilton and accordionist Miloš Milivojević will take us on a mesmerising musical tour around the world.

For more details, visit www.riponconcerts.co.uk.