HUNDREDS of young people entertained the crowds as the County Music Service held its summer festival on Saturday.

Musicians from Chipping Norton, Banbury, Kidlington and Oxford’s Saturday music schools staged group performances, while Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra and the Schools’ Symphony Orchestra performed pieces from their repertoire during three hours of non-stop tunes.

The event, held at the service’s headquarters at Bayards Hill Primary School, Barton, Oxford, finished with a massed choir performing When I’m 64 and Hey Mr Miller, accompanied by award-winning Oxford Jazz Factor.

Oxford High School pupil Hannah Griffiths, 12, who has been playing the violin for seven years, said: “I particularly like performing in orchestras and all the different types of music we play.”

Oxfordshire County Council chairman Patrick Greene, who opened the festival to a brass fanfare, said: “This is a spectacular event with a variety of music to suit all tastes.”

Next month, 289 Oxfordshire young musicians from six groups have been invited to perform at the National Music Festival in Birmingham, showcasing jazz, rock, choral, pop, brass, and wind music at top venues across the city.