THIS year's Chipping Campden International Music Festival is expected to break box office records as it gets ready for two weeks of top class performances.

Running from May 8 to 21, the festival attracts visitors from all over the world as well as some of the world's best loved international musicians.

The festival patron of education is Julian Lloyd-Webber.

The concerts take place in the atmospheric setting of St James' church, described by Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel as "One of the finest acoustics I encountered in my 60 year career."

Artists appearing this year include The Borodin Quartet, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Trevor Pinnock, Vox Luminus, Imogen Cooper, Lucy Parham, Harriet Walter, Alex Jennings, Isabelle Faust, The Nash Ensemble, Alfred Brendel, Angelika

Kirchschlager, & Julius Drake.

Festival president Paul Lewis will be playing all five Beethoven piano concertos with the Festival Academy Orchestra.

Chipping Campden is the only venue in world where Mr Lewis is performing the full cycle.

For the ninth consecutive year the festival’s own academy training orchestra will be formed under the directorship of Thomas Hull. The academy orchestra comprises 50 per cent established professionals, drawn from the UK’s leading

orchestras, and 50 per cent graduate trainees selected by audition. This year there were in excess of 120

applications for the 21 Academy places; a sign that the academy is now seen as one of the UK’s leading

training orchestras.

Mr Lloyd-Webber said: "Thank goodness for Chipping Campden Music Festival. The Festival’s involvement in music education grows with every passing year; which is just as well, as our children seem to have less and less access

to music in their schools with every passing year. The most exciting development in 2015 was the formation of the new Youth Academy Orchestra, which, given sufficient funding being available, will become a regular feature of their educational calendar.

Mr Lewis added: "The 2016 programme is as exciting and varied as ever, and, once again, the fortnight will see the arrival in Chipping Campden of some of the world’s most renowned musicians. As always, the Festival Academy Orchestra will be in residence and I am very excited about performing all five Beethoven concertos with them and their inspiring conductor, Thomas Hull."