WEST SOMERSET played host to a raft of world-class classical musicians at this year's Minehead and Exmoor Musical Festival.

The festival, now in its 52nd year, featured five concerts in six days split between Minehead and Dulverton, finishing with a spectacular concert at the Regal Theatre on Saturday, August 1.

The festival manages to attract internationally renowned soloists and this year was no different with Exeter's 22-year-old co-principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra Katy Woolley performing.

So what is it that brings such high calibre performers back to West Somerset year after year?

"We are put up by local families and we are made to feel very special," said Richard Dickins, the festival's art director and conductor.

"Many of the players are freelance musicians who whizz from one engagement to another with never quite enough time between one thing and the next, so for us to be in one place for a whole week is a delight.

"It is something we have built over many years, we all came many, many years ago as students and many of us have been coming ever since. I think it is the extraordinary friendly and happy atmosphere here," he added.

The audience at this year's End of Festival Concert were treated to three pieces from the BBC'S Ten Pieces project, an initiative designed to to open up the world of classical music to a younger audience.

The concert featured a rousing performance of Mussorgsky's Night on a Bare Mountain, which features in Disney's Fantasia film, as well as Mozart's Horn Concerto no 4 and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite.

Mr Dickins, who is director of music at Imperial College, London, said: "For all of us what we are doing during this week is enjoying making music at a phenomenally high level with world class soloists and just enjoying the community of music and the community of West Somerset."

David Yates, chairman of the voluntary Festival Committee group who help to organise the week's events, said planning had already started on next year's festival.