AS countless millennium events loom on the horizon, bassoonist Laurence Perkins is preparing for a celebration of his own.

He is to commemorate the highs and lows of the past 1,000 years during a musical performance in Middlewich.

The internationally acclaimed bassoonist is to present The Song of a Sea-God at Middlewich High School's drama studio on Thursday, February 11.

Laurence described the event organised by Middlewich and District Concerts Society.

He said: "It's a voyage of the imagination in music and words - a celebration of the present millennium's music, literature, history and the world around us, in the company of the bassoon's lyrical and expressive voice".

The title was inspired by the words of Sacheverell Sitwell in the 1930s, who described the sound of the bassoon as "like a sea-god speaking".

Laurence will play a wide range of music including folk melodies, classical and romantic works and music inspired by Shakespeare and the Chernobyl disaster.

All these are interwoven with spoken words including a 1000-year-old poem by an Anglo-Saxon seafarer, an encounter with Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada, an amusing moment with Samuel Pepys, the evocative reflections of a Shakespearian spirit, the Industrial Revolution, the present century and a thoughtful glance at our route into the next millennium.

Seats for the 7.30pm performance at the King Edward Street school are available from Middlewich and District Concerts Society for £6 on 01606 832367, or at the door.

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