Aspiring musicians of the future will be among those to get their chance in the spotlight when a Suffolk orchestra performs at one of the UK’s biggest music festivals.

Ipswich Star: Latitude will return to Henham Park for 2019. Picture: NICK BUTCHERLatitude will return to Henham Park for 2019. Picture: NICK BUTCHER (Image: Archant � 2018)

Suffolk Music and Arts Alumni Trust (SMART), which aims to support more young people to play music, has put together a full symphony orchestra of 70 musicians for the performance at Henham Park's Latitude Festival on Sunday, July 21.

Made up of current and former members of Suffolk Youth Orchestra and other ensembles from the county, SMART hopes to showcase the talent that has been nurtured in Suffolk over several years with an eclectic mix of songs.

One of those involved will be 16-year-old Kesgrave High School student Grace Harman, who has spent much of her life playing music and earlier this year was invited to play the trumpet at the prestigious Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London.

Grace, who is a youth trustee for SMART, said: "I got the opportunity to become a trustee through my membership of the Suffolk Youth Orchestra, which I have played with for the past three years - and this is where a lot of members of SMART started their musical journeys in Suffolk.

"I am aspiring to become a professional musician. Therefore, I will embrace the experience of playing at Latitude for many reasons, including meeting and playing with professional musicians who have taken a musical career which I am aspiring to take, but also because Latitude is one of the most prestigious music festivals in the east."

As SMART is a relatively new charity, it is hoped the performance on Latitude's Waterfront Stage will help to raise awareness of its work and the importance of encouraging more young people to play music.

Wendy James, chairman of SMART - whose daughter Vicky was a member of Suffolk Youth Music from 2006 to 2014 - said: "This experience helped Vicky to develop her musicianship to a very high standard.

"It also developed many of the 'soft skills' she required to enter the world of employment - for example self-confidence, collaboration, leadership, perseverance, resilience."

For more information about the charity, visit www.suffolksmart.org