Burton Bradstock Music and Arts Festival is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary this summer.

An initial spring concert on Friday, May 20, including music by a Ukrainian composer, will see the return of the popular festival, which was last held in 2019.

Artistic director David Juritz has put together a special programme of music, including work by Ukrainian Valentin Silvestrov, in honour of those suffering during the war with Russia. During the main three-day festival in August, audiences will hear the string quartet by the 'father of Ukrainian music', Mykola Lysenko.

This year's festival will be particularly poignant as its founder, distinguished flautist Mary Ryan died earlier this month.

The spring concert will see David, violin, joined by Anna Hashimoto, clarinet, and David Gordon, piano.

Jenny Malyon, chairman of the festival organising committee, said: "What a delight to be able to say that we are going to go ahead with the 40th Burton Bradstock Festival of Music and Art.

"The fact that we have had a delay just whets our appetite for the joy of hosting again in our village, the prestigious musicians who come to entertain us. As with everything worth waiting for, perhaps the enforced and rather long interval will make us all the more appreciate the second half.

"For the spring concert, David Juritz has put a programme together for us that I know we will all enjoy and we will be meeting old friends who always come to listen to the music, both familiar and less so, to revitalise us all after a very difficult couple of years."

The main music festival takes place from August 17 to 19 and the art festival will run in the village hall from August 16 to 21.

David Juritz said: "I will remember festival founder May Ryan with enormous affection. Working with her was always a delight with every rehearsal punctuated by her anecdotes and wry observations. My gratitude for the legacy of concerts she leaves is shared by everyone that remembers her.

"Of course, Ukraine is very much in our minds at the moment. In March I had the privilege of playing the Ukraine National Anthem at Trafalgar Square with 200 other musicians and, a few days later, was joined by Yuri Zhislin at the Royal Festival Hall in another performance for Ukraine. As you'll imagine, the anger, pain and grief that Putin's war has caused is felt just as keenly by both our Ukrainian and Russian colleagues."

The spring concert starts at 7.30pm in St Mary's Church in Burton Bradstock and there will be a bar in the interval run on a donation basis. Tickets are £12/£8/£6 and can be bought through Bridport Tourist Information Centre.