UNUSUAL instruments including bongo drums, and the premiere of a fun work by the American composer Steph­en Paulus, are promis­ed at a special concert in Monmouth.

 Producers Monmouth Choral Soiciety are calling it Make A Joyful Noise, and it's not just the title that makes it one of the most unusual concerts in the Society's history, says spokesman Mike Topp.

In a programme which will appeal to a wide variety of musical tastes, the choir will sing a range of settings of exciting music by British and American composers, from modern settings of Psalms to medieval love songs, at St Mary's Priory Church, Monmouth, on Saturday April 2 at 7.30pm.

The concert will also feature a selection of songs by George Gershwin sung by leading Welsh soprano Sian Winstanley.

One of the most extraordinary features of the evening's entertainment will be the rich accompaniment – as well as organ and harp, a variety of exotic percussion instruments will be spotlighted, including marimba, vibraphone, bongos, temple blocks, wind chimes and tom-toms. 

The programme includes West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, the Dorchester Canticles by Tarik O'Regan, Benjamin Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb and Hymn to the Virgin, and the first UK performance of Poemas d'Amor by Stephen Paulus.

The conductor will be Huw Williams, the choir's musical director, who said: "This will be an exciting concert full of colourful, lively and rhythmic but beautiful music."

Tickets are available from DS Music in Monmouth, by phoning 01989 751 968, or online at http://www.monmouth">www.monmouth choralsociety.co.uk