GAZETTE & HERALD: FOR eight days Corsham Festival will play host to three world premieres, 30 events and more than 50 artists and performers in this year's musical extravaganza.

From June 18 the festival is set to transform the town, where young and old can enjoy an eclectic mix of music, drama, comedy and dance.

To mark the centenary of Sir Michael Tippett's birth, Festival 2005 celebrates the internationally renowned composer who lived in the town for ten years from 1960 to 1970. The opening concert presents his extraordinarily moving oratorio A Child of Our Time, the deeply personal response to Jewish persecution in pre-war Nazi Germany.

The festival wakes up on Saturday June 18 with a bedtime story in the town's High Street.

Five people tucked up in an over-sized four-poster bed will be wheeled into a small marquee to experience a 3-D fairytale featuring striking visual images and some unusual surprises.

Piano Circus, comedian Andy Parsons and Bournemouth Symphony Strings lead the line up at the festival.

BBC Radio 2 star Mr Parsons will demonstrate why he has established himself as one of the most distinctive and funniest voices on the comedy circuit when he performs at the Royal Oak on June 22.

Other highlights include a concert by Acoustic Triangle, and a candlelit performance by the all female vocal trio Juice.

Artistic director Nicholas Keyworth said: "Once again we will be bringing the very best in performing arts to this Wiltshire town."