A talented guitarist who has played in front of royalty will showcase her skills in Bury on Friday.

Saffron Sonoda, 21, a half-Japanese classical guitarist from Manchester, will be performing in a lunchtime concert at Bury Parish Church at 12.30pm.

She is studying at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) under the tutelage of Craig Ogden.

Saffron was "thrown into the world of music" aged nine and has "never looked back since".

Two years later she was awarded a place at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester to study with Wendy Jackson and studied there until she was 18.

During her years at Chetham’s, she played at the Bridgewater Hall, The Stoller Hall and Manchester Cathedral.

As well as many solo performances Saffron has performed in numerous chamber ensembles such as duos, trio, quartets and quintets.

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One of the highlights of her career was playing the mandolin in Mahler's Symphony No. 8 as part of Chetham's Symphony Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall and The Stoller Hall in 2019 for Prince Edward, which was also recorded for BBC Radio and The One Show.

At the RNCM she has undertaken many opportunities such as composition collaborations for the Royal Northern Ballet, multiple masterclasses and many performance opportunities as a soloist or as part of her duo with Brazilian double bassist Joana Moura.

Tickets will cost £5 on the door and refreshments will be on sale from 11am.