Members of church choirs from across the North of England will converge on Leeds Town Hall later this month for a choral festival.

Choristers of all ages are being invited to take part in the festival, called The Whole Company of Heaven.

The festival is being organised by the Royal School of Church Music and will be directed by Dr Simon Lindley, the City of Leeds organist.

Choristers will sing compositions by Francis Jackson and T Tertius Noble, both past organists of York Minster, and Ernest Bullock, as well as church music composers George Dyson and Charles Villiers Stanford.

The festival culminates in a special service at 3pm that will also mark the eve of the feast day of St Michael and All Angels with hymns on the theme of angels and saints. Preaching the sermon will be the Bishop of Beverley, the Right Reverend Glyn Webster.

"We are hoping for 600 choristers from across the whole region, including cathedral choirs from Wakefield, Sheffield and Bradford," says Andrew Robinson, the RSCM's Regional Music Adviser.

"This is a celebration of the role of music within worship and a rare chance to bring together choristers to celebrate our fine North of England heritage of church music, in the iconic space of Leeds Town Hall."

Singers, whether as part of a choir or individuals, need to book in advance to take part and music will be provided in a service book priced at £6. For more information go to www.rscm.com/riponandleeds or contact Andrew Robinson on arobinson@rscm.com.