THE Purbeck International Chamber Music Festival is now under way at historic locations, churches, unusual sites and schools across the Isle of Purbeck and continues until Sunday

Since its inception in 2011, it has brought outstanding musicians from around the world together where they share their talents, create new projects and give performances, workshops and masterclasses to the local and wider community of music lovers.

PICMF’s artistic director, Natalie Clein, aims to have the standard of performance at a world-class level whilst making the concerts themselves accessible for all.

She said: “Our belief is that live music making is not a luxury product for the few, but rather an experience that can and must enrich all who have the chance to witness it up close.”

Highlights include a musical and harmonic homecoming in Wareham on Friday to Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds. Tomorrow morning in Worth Matravers starts with two composers Prokofiev and Bloch who have been heavily influenced by Bach. Then on Saturday evening in St Edward’s Corfe Castle, Mahler’s Wayfarer songs can be heard in the chamber music version arranged by Schoenberg before the all-time favourite chamber music piece of many, Schubert’s A major piano quintet, The Trout.

Finally on Sunday at 11.30am, the PICMF musicians will perform the Beethoven Septet in Kingston followed by Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf for families of all ages in Harmans Cross Village Hall at 3pm.

For full details, see purbeck-chambermusic.org.uk