Ruined building in Hiroshima that acts as a memorial and reminder of those who died and were injured during the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city during World War Two.

Do you like singing or playing an instrument and fancy performing in a huge musical ensemble?

The idea of the event is to get people together to take part in a large scale performance work which is an opportunity that doesn't come along very often.

Ruth Hardie

As part of this year's Cambridge Festival of Ideas, local people are being invited to take part in the critically acclaimed musical work Dark Sun - August 1945, a multi-layered piece commemorating the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Rehearsals begin on 16th October and anyone with a taste for music is invited to come along and take part, whether as a singer, musician or percussion player.

Stephen Montague's Dark Sun – August 1945 which has won impressive reviews from music critics is to be performed at the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Music on October 20.

Using the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Second World War which instantly killed over 78,000 people and critically burned and gravely injured over 70,000 more as its focus, it is dedicated to the victims as well as survivors of the nuclear age. It includes choral singing and music interwoven with radio broadcasts from the period.

The work was commissioned by Contemporary Music Making for Amateurs with funds provided by the Arts Council of England and was first performed in 1995, the 50th anniversary of the bombings.  It is dedicated to Chris Shurety, the Director of COMA.

Ruth Hardie, Music Outreach Officer at the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Music, said: “The idea of the event is to get people together to take part in a large scale performance work which is an opportunity that doesn't come along very often.

"Lots of composers concentrate on writing music for professionals which is understandable, but we wanted to create an event that amateurs could participate in and enjoy too.”

There will also be some smaller pieces for flexible groups of instrumentalists and some of these will be taught in local schools before the concert date.

Dark Sun will be performed on Thursday, October 20, at West Road Concert Hall 7-8pm. Tickets are free but you can pre-book through Eventbrite - http://cfi2011darksunconcert.eventbrite.com/

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