YOUNG musicians from Lancashire and Cumbria are descending on Darwen this weekend as part of a national competition.

Sixteen youngsters will line up at Darwen Vale High School on Sunday for the area final.

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The competition, run by Rotary clubs throughout England, seeks to find two Young Musicians of the Year – one an instrumentalist and the other a singer.

Each winner of the national contest will win £500 worth of vouchers from Harrods.

One instrumentalist and one singer will go through from Sunday’s heats to a regional final to be held in Cheshire.

The national finals will be staged at Darwen Vale on May 16.

The district final includes instrumentalists from Blackburn, Clitheroe, Preston, Blackpool, Keswick and Wigton. The vocalists are from Chorley, Leyland, Blackburn, Bacup, Poulton, Lytham and Keswick.

Darwen Rotary Club’s organiser John Jacklin said: “It promises to be a very close and exciting competition because the standard of the students is extremely high.

“In the instrumental section we have pianists, a saxophonist, two guitarists, a viola player and a French horn player and a trumpeter.”

The judges are Stuart Corrie, head of music at Rossall School, Tockholes Justine Crook, is head of music at Kirkham Grammar School, and Gemma Christie, a vocal coach from Preston.