A FOUNDATION set up in memory of a popular drummer is set to host international stars from the world of drumming.

The Mark Jon Bolderson Percussion Foundation will host an all-day drum festival later this month. It’s the first time the foundation has been able to hold such a large scale event.

The festival will be held at the Queen’s Hall on January 25, with leading tuned percussionist Owen Gunnell preparing to perform with the Royal Birmingham Conservatoires percussion ensemble – the Millennial Percussion Ensemble.

The foundation is named after Hexham-born drummer Mark Bolderson, who studied at Birmingham Conservatoires.

Mark died suddenly in 2017, and the foundation was set up to offer financial support to young percussion students across the North-East.

The foundation runs workshops, brings tuition and performance opportunities to young musicians, and holds an annual scholarship for talented performers.

Organisers of the festival have also secured a number of workshops that will be free to attend.

They will include a demonstration on the Irish folk drum, the bodhran by modern folk musician Will Lang, and a samba workshop for beginners.

Owen Gunnell will also lead a workshop of his own, while the British Army has agreed to send a corps of musicians to perform and run a workshop.

Following his study at the conservatoire, Mark served as a musician with the Royal Artillery.

The workshops will be followed by an evening gala concert with performances from Owen and the Army.

The foundation was able to organise the festival after receiving a welcome funding boost from Northumberland County Council’s cultural fund.

The event, including the concert, is free to attend, although tickets are limited and places can be booked by contacting the foundation or the Queen’s Hall.