A FOLK musical about the lives of workers in the Tamar Valley over the past 100 years will have its debut in East Cornwall in the autumn thanks to a millennium grant of £3,300.

The Calstock Singers, formed ten years ago, are rehearsing hard and the first performance will be at Cotehele on October 27 as part of the Caradon Festival.

The music for 'Song of the Tamar' has been written by Ian Marshall and the lyrics by Ian Gallacher.

It is the second musical the pair have worked on together. Four years ago, they wrote The Final Barge for the choir.

The generous grant came from the Millennium Festival Awards for All scheme and Ian Gallacher believes the idea of a story of working people in the Tamar Valley through the last 100 years caught the imagination of the award distributors.

'We did very well indeed to obtain a grant of that amount,' said Ian.

'At the beginning we wondered whether we had sufficient background material available for a folk cantata and then realised we had more than enough to put together a story, appropriate for the millennium grant.

'We wrote it in consultation with the choir — it really was a joint effort. I am hoping there will be at least three hits from it,' he joked.

About 25 choir members will take part in the musical which will last about one hour.

It contains 12 songs and two small dance pieces.

Other pre-Christmas performances have been arranged to take place at Calstock Peterloo Poets' premises and Morwellham Quay. Posters and advertisements giving further details will be displayed closer to the dates.

The choir hope to take the musical further afield in the new year.

'We already have had enquiries including one from a Plymouth church,' said Ian.