AS the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (NOW) play in concert at Newtown’s Hafren theatre on Saturday afternoon, September 22, children’s author and illustrator James Mayhew will be creating pictures capturing moments of the performance which will be projected live onto a big screen in the theatre.

Creator of the 'Katie and Ella Bella Ballerina' books, he will be working alongside the orchestra as they plays works ranging from Benjamin Britten and Stravinsky to Vaughan Williams and John Williams.

BBC Radio Wales presenter Lynn Bowles will be hosting the family-friendly concert introducing each piece of music, the stories they tell and what to listen out for, at the orchestra kick off an autumn tour that will also take them to Aberystwyth Arts Centre on November 22.

Hearing the 80-strong BBC National Orchestra of Wales at full throttle in music from Stravinsky’s ballet 'The Firebird' or 'Star Wars' will pin you to the back of your seat and you will never be nervous of classical music again.

But in pieces like Vaughan Williams’ exquisite 'The Lark Ascending' or John Williams’ heart-breaking main theme from 'Schindler’s List', you’ll also experience the luscious warmth and delicacy that an orchestra’s colour palette can paint.

BBC NOW Orchestra will perform iconic pieces, including Beethoven’s first and fifth symphonies;, while Weber’s 'Clarinet Concerto No.1 in F minor' will be performed by BBC NOW principal clarinet Robert Plane.

The concert will feature Britten’s 'The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra', alongside music by the iconic film composer John Williams in a medley including music from 'Star Wars', 'Jaws' and 'Harry Potter'.

Accompanied by Cardiff-based violinist, Charlie Lovell-Jones, BBC NOW' will play Vaughan William’s 'Lark Ascending' and the main theme from 'Schindler’s List'. Conductor Moritz Gnann and BBC NOW will also be performing music from Stravinsky’s 'Firebird' and Sibelius’ 'The Swan of Tuonela', which features in BBC Music’s Ten Pieces.

“Fresh from marking our 90th birthday, BBC NOW is ‘hitting the road’ and heading to Mid and North Wales for a varied and engaging series of concerts in wonderful performance venues. Every stage of the tour has something different, and encapsulates everything that the modern BBC NOW offers our audiences,” said BBC NOW director Michael Garvey.