Concerts in the West will continue to bring world class young artists to the West Country during 2023, with its first tour around Dorset, Devon and Somerset starting in February. 

Concerts in the West was launched in 2006 and aims to bring talented young musicians to small venues in the West Country in areas that may not have easy access to music of this quality. 

Short intensive tours are arranged for the musicians over a few days, when they have the opportunity to work on new repertoire, or to embed works more fully for upcoming recordings and major concerts elsewhere. 

A spokesperson said: "The enthusiasm and skill of these young people is breathtaking and has come about through many years of study, at least to postgraduate level, dedication and hard work. We feel very privileged to hear them in such intimate settings. 

"The music played at the concerts is enormously varied and gives local audiences a wonderful opportunity to hear both familiar and unusual works for voice and instrument in many combinations." 

The 2023 season will include tours by violist Rosalind Ventris with pianist Richard UMley, violinist Emmanuel Bach with pianist Julian Trevelyan, cellist Riccardo Pes with pianist Alexander Boyd, chamber groups including the Fitzroy Quartet, Northern Chords Ensemble and ChamberMusicBox, and baroque ensembles Spiritato, Fair Oriana and Ensemble Moliere. 

The programme will kick off with Spiritato, performing at Bridport Arts Centre on Friday, February 3 at 11.30am.

Spiritato is one of the Britain's leading period ensembles, producing unique, research-based performance projects, avoiding well-trodden paths wherever possible. They actively seek to promote forgotten composers and bring their music to a wider audience. 

The ensemble includes Kinga Ujszászi (violin and director), Magdalena Loth-Hill (violin and viola), Joanne Miller (viola), Jacob Garside (viola da gamba and violoncello), and Nicolas Mendoza (organ).

As individuals, they can be found performing with specialist ensembles throughout the UK and Europe, including the Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Les Talens Lyriques and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. They frequently tour internationally, and their second album on the Resonus Classics label was received to critical acclaim from the Financial Times, Early Music Today, Bachtrack and BBC Music Magazine. 

Full details and tickets can be found online at https://tickets.concertsinthewest.org/

Discounts are available for young people, and are free for children aged 12 and under when accompanied by a paying adult.