YOUNG musicians trod the world's most famous stage to perform the premiere of a new piece marking the centenary year of the outbreak of the First World War.

Bolton Junior Youth Choir and St Saviour's CE Primary School in Ringley performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the prestigious School Prom.

They were part of a 500-strong choir from the Greater Manchester Hub — led by Bolton Music Service — chosen to perform by Music for Youth giving children the chance of lifetime.

Composer, Ed Puddick, wrote a groundbreaking piece that combined a massed primary school choir with one of the hub's flagship ensembles, the Greater Manchester Jazz Orchestra.

His brief was to write a piece that the children could perform and enjoy, but which was not a "kids piece", and that its theme was the First World War.

Mr Puddick worked with Siegfried Sassoon's poem Secret Music, written while the poet was serving on the front line.

Sassoon was an accomplished pianist and his poems describe how he used his musical memories and imagination to escape the brutal reality of war.

Carolyn Baxendale, head of Bolton Music Service and the lead of the Greater Manchester Music Hub, said: "This music and the scale of the project has really put our musical and teaching skills to the test.

"Working in an unfamiliar genre and with historic text is not an easy sell to primary age pupils, but we knew that as the rehearsal process developed, the choirs would fall in love with this piece.

"This is exactly what has happened — the project has once again brought together the nine music services of the Greater Manchester Music Hub and we are learning from each other's expertise and being inspired by the children who are at the heart of the project.

"Not one of our nine music services could have done this alone, and it is symbolic in proving the values of the Greater Manchester Music Hub."

The piece finishes with the final line of Sassoon's poem which states that even amidst the hell of the First World War "music dawned above despair".

The Greater Manchester Jazz Orchestra and Massed Choir received a standing ovation from The Royal Albert Hall audience.

The School Proms finished on Wednesday.