A HOST of celebrations will take place this weekend to mark the 150th anniversary of Sir Edward Elgar's birth.

A special mass will be held at Elgar's burial site, St Wulstan's Catholic Church, in Little Malvern, on Sunday (June 3). The mass, led by the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, begins at 10.30am, and will be attended by the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire and Elgar's nephews and nieces.

Following that, wreaths will be laid at Elgar's grave. St Wulstan's will be open for visitors tomorrow (Saturday, June 2), Elgar's actual birthday, from 9.30am - 4.30pm, offering an photographic exhibition of places that inspired Elgar, by Alex Pownall.

The Elgar Birthplace Museum, in Lower Broad-heath, hosts a piano recital today at 1pm. Tickets are £10. At 7.30pm, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra will appear at Worcester Cathedral to perform Elgar - The Worcester Years. Tickets range from £10 - £20.

The Medici Quartet with Ian Brown (piano) will be performing Elgar's Cham-ber Music at Huntingdon Hall tomorrow, from 11am. Admission is £15. There will also be a Gala Birthday Concert, from 2.30pm, at Worcester Cathedral, again featuring the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with numerous choirs, including The Elgar Chorale and the St George's Singers of Cape Town. Julian Lloyd Webber will also perform. Tickets are £10 - £20.

Celebrations include a gala at London's Royal Albert Hall, tomorrow (Saturday).

However, organisers are disappointed that Arts Council England refused to provide any funding for the celebrations. Julian Lloyd Webber claimed in the national press it was a snub to classical music.