Ref. 23884-1 Sisters Laura (on saxophone) and Anna Stacey (on violin)Around 16 years ago, a young pianist competed at the Swindon Music Festival. Today Jamie Cullum is a household name. So what musical talent will this year's festival discover? FLICKY HARRISON reports

THE Swindon Music Festival, which kicks off this week, has thrown up many promising youngsters including a young pianist called Jamie Cullum.

In 1988 and 1989 Jamie, who was then a student at Grittleton House School, competed in the Under 9 Piano Solo and Piano Duet Classes.

The chairman of the festival, Geoff Walters, said: "Our best wishes to Jamie. We shall follow his rapid and well-deserved rise to stardom with great interest.''

On Wednesday, the 95th Swindon Music Festival gets underway at 9am at the Arts Centre in Devizes Road, Old Town.

The opening class, coincidently, is the same as Jamie competed in the Modern Popular Piano Solo: Nine and under. It involves a test piece of the student's own choice.

The festival includes classes for choirs, vocal solos, vocal duets, vocal groups, pianoforte, strings, woodwind, guitar, ensembles, composition, brass and keyboards.

Affiliated to The British Federation of Festivals, the Swindon event runs until Saturday, April 3.

Making a welcome return to the festival are the accompanists Paul Turner, who is a concert pianist, and Rosemary Lang, a piano teacher and director of the Wantage Music Festival.

Geoff said: "This will be Rosemary's 25th year with us and Paul, our own local accompanist, will notch up 14 years at this festival.''

Paul is a renowned concert pianist who performs all over the world, including places such as Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Berlin, Bremen, Valencia and Paris as well as all the prestigious venues in the UK.

He has worked with some of the world's top recitalists and musicians including Maria Ewing, Sarah Walker, Rugero Raimondi, Patricia Rozario, Ann Mackay, Caroline Dale, Nicholas Daniel and both the Coull and Emperor String Quartets.

He is an honours graduate from the Royal Academy of Music in London and has been elected an Associate of the Royal Academy, which is a discretionary award only given to distinguished past students.

Paul is best known in his home town as founder of the Swindon Recital Series, which continues to enjoy considerable success and bring top notch classical musicians to the town.

Rosemary Lang is originally from Scotland and trained at the Royal Academy of Music.

She went into teaching after a year at the London University Institute of Education and became head of music at schools in London and Berkshire.

There are three championship concerts within the festival.

The first is an instrumental evening, including the instrumental championship and awarding of the Challenge Cup, on Tuesday, March 30, from 6.30pm. Admission will cost £3, or 50p for children.

The Junior Vocal Championship and the awarding of the R G Cripps Challenge Cup is on Friday, April 2, beginning at 6.30pm. There will also be a performance of songs from shows and films. The same admission charges will apply.

The final grand concert, including the senior championship and awarding of the Free Council Challenge Cup, together with the supreme championship and the awarding of the Macpherson Trophy, is on Saturday, April 3, from 6.30pm. Admission will cost £4 for adults and 50p for children.

The adjudicators are Jeffery Wilson, Stuart Smith, Barry Clark and Penelope Prince Jones.

The festival is aimed at giving musicians feedback on their individual performances as well as being entertain- ing and fun to enter.

The organisers are hoping that Swindon's music fans, whether as individuals or as businesses or groups, will support the festival this year.

Geoff said: "I thus appeal to all to support the 2004 Swindon Music Festival, and may we all find in it some enrichment of life and plenty to encourage and inspire us."

Flicky Harrison