YORK Spring Festival of New Music, the University of York music department’s annual celebration of new artists, will run from April 29 to May 3.

The festival celebrates the best of new music in a way that is both accessible and fun, featuring premieres of new pieces, as well as offering chances for participation.

The programme promises chamber concerts, composers, recitals and an opera in a five-day celebration of new music that includes ancient music and texts from Sumaria and Mesopotamia, Joan of Arc, premieres and a club night.

Concerts will be held at venues across the city, such as the National Centre for Early Music and the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, while The Lyre Ensemble will give a talk about their reconstruction of Sumerian instruments, including the golden lyre of Ur.

The theme running through the programme will be the work of women composers, including the university’s illustrious alumna Anna Meredith, who is involved in Ten Pieces, the BBC project that aims to inspire musical creativity in primary schoolchildren.

Anna will lead a workshop and perform a rare live set with her band. Chamber ensemble Dark Inventions also return, having established themselves on the national scene through concerts and tours since their debut in the 2013 festival.

• Full festival details can be found at yorkspringfestival.co.uk Tickets are on sale on 01904 4322439, at ac.uk/concerts/ and via email to boxoffice@york.ac.uk