ENTRIES for the annual Woking Music Festival close next Wednesday (October 4).

The competitive festival, held throughout November, is a celebration of the musical and literary vitality of Woking and the surrounding areas. It welcomes people of all ages and abilities who derive and give pleasure in participating, whatever their tastes or performing standard.

Founded by Nancy Leigh in 1926, the renowned festival is now one of the largest of its kind in the south east with about 1,000 people taking part each year. 

Highly-respected teachers and performers act as adjudicators, giving valuable advice and guidance to all participants.

There are also more than 90 trophies to be won, including the prestigious Most Promising Singer and Most Promising Young Actor awards and the Woking Junior Musicians of the Year.

In early February, the festival organises the Woking Young Musician of the Year competition with outstanding performers aged 14 to 20 from the previous year’s festival being invited to participate. Several of these performers have gone on to be in the finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition and, in recent years, two have won this coveted title.

This year’s festival will be held from November 4 to 25: choral and orchestral classes will be at Woking High School on November 14 and 15 respectively; speech and drama classes are held at Halstead St Andrew’s School, Horsell, on November 4 and 11.

All other classes will be held at St John’s Church, St John’s: instrumental – November 8, 15, 17 and 23; vocal – November 6, 9 and 16.

For more information and details on how to enter, visit wokingmusicfestival.org.uk