KATHRYN TICKELL, the Paganini of the Northumbrian pipes, may not sing in public - but she is one of the most articulate musicians playing today.

Her virtuosity is such that she can use the pipes to create the sound of a shower of rain. Listen carefully and you can almost hear each raindrop exploding as it hits the ground.

Tickell saved that remarkable solo piece for the second encore demanded by the capacity audience in York last night.

Tickell's music is rooted in Northumberland. She has used her acclaimed skills as a composer to celebrate the opening of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge and to lament the decline of the once mighty North-East coalfield.

She composed Our Kate as a tribute to the North-East novelist, Catherine Cookson. Her rendition of it on the pipes last night, augmented by Joss Clapp's delicate guitar, was simply beautiful.

Tickell is no slouch on fiddle either, creating a buzz with an array of frenetic dance tunes, ably supported by her half-brother and fellow fiddle player Peter Tickell.

He has become an integral part of her band, even though he's still at school taking his A-levels.

Julian Sutton, on melodeon, gives the band's sound plenty of ballast.

Updated: 08:42 Saturday, May 15, 2004