The Cheltenham Philharmonic Orchestra are to play music by legendary composers Richard Wagner, Alexander Glazunov and Gustav Mahler at their summer concert next Sunday.

The members of the orchestra, which is the oldest musical society in Cheltenham, are to play at a familiar venue in the regency town – the Pittville Pump Room. Wendy Price, who plays cello in the orchestra, is looking forward to the concert, which gets underway at 3pm.

She said: “Everyone involved with the orchestra is relishing the chance to perform at the Pittville Pump Room. We’ve been fortunate to have played there many times before, it’s such a wonderful setting. Our last concert at the Pump Room was a sell-out, it would be great if we could repeat that next weekend. We’re an orchestra that enjoys a challenge, we love playing not just the standard classical repertoire but some lesser known pieces as well.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Rusne Mikiskaite who will be performing the Glazunov Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra. Rusne has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in some of the most important concert halls in her native Lithuania as well as in the UK. We’re very excited to welcome her to Cheltenham and look forward to seeing her play. Another young up-and-coming musician who will be joining us next weekend is Rebecca McNaught, who won Gloucestershire Young Musician of the Year in 2015. She’s an incredibly talented cellist and is sure to go to the very top.”

Wendy has been playing with the orchestra since she moved to Cheltenham back in 1981. With weekly practice sessions and four annual performances, she enjoys the challenge of learning new compositions. She said: “We’ve been practising every week since early April for our summer concert, so we’re all tremendously excited ahead of what promises to be one of the highlights of the year for our musicians. It’s always exciting when you get the chance to perform, it’s a big challenge and there’s a lot of pressure to get it right.

“As soon as we finish the concert next Sunday we’ll be going straight into practising for our next performance which falls on Armistice Day and will include Vaughan Williams’ 3rd Symphony and Britten’s Symphonia da Requiem. Next year is the 125th anniversary of the founding of the orchestra so there will be a number of concerts celebrating that landmark.”