Bolton Summer Proms 2000, Lunchtime cello recital by Kate Sawbridge, Albert Halls, Bolton FATE is a funny thing.

If Kate Sawbridge's parents had not owned an estate car then this accomplished cellist may never have graced the stage.

But because the Bolton girl's mum and dad owned a car big enough to ferry a cello about when their daughter's primary school was presented with the instrument, then Kate's it was.

From the age of eight she took to it with an abundance of natural talent which yesterday was fully displayed and appreciated by a small crowd.

The majesty of Brahms' Sonata in F, swept both Kate, now in her third year at the Royal College of music, and her young accompanist, Nicholas Rimmer, along. Melodious answering phrases between piano and cello combined for a bright start.

George Crumb's 1955 composition, Sonata for solo cello, proved a taxing test with the instrument's full pitch put to the test and traditional methods interspersed with cross stringing to create a haunting and emotional piece.

Languorous and wistful passages contrasted with feisty, passionate movements in Vivaldi's beautiful Sonata No 5 in E Minor.

And Debussy's Sonata for Cello and Piano again displayed a tempo change and a full range of expression and feeling which kept the audience enraptured.

Even early trouble with her cello's spike, which slipped on the polished stage floor, did not knock her out of her stride.

Grinning at the audience, this brilliant musician joked: "Sometimes I wish my parents had not had an estate car." Dave Roberts