MEMBERS of a children's theatre school brought some of Elgar's magical music to life.

Sixteen students from Stagecoach Worcester showcased months of hard work when their creative performance retold the story of the classical composer's the Wand of Youth at the Elgar Birthplace Museum, Lower Broadheath, near Worcester, on Sunday, May 11.

The youngsters aged six to 16 used a range of dance, drama and song in the piece devised by their teachers.

Lucy Maycock, graduate trainee and project co-ordinator at the museum, said: “It has been wonderful to work with Stagecoach Worcester. They are an incredibly talented and enthusiastic group who have brought Elgar’s music to life with so much energy and creativity.

"Elgar loved working with young performers and their performance did him proud.”

The story and music of the Wand of Youth began in 1871 when Elgar was just 14-years-old.

Along with his brothers and sisters, he wrote a play in which they transported their parents to Fairyland, a magical place populated with creatures such as fairies, giants, moths and butterflies.

In Fairyland, the Elgar children’s parents are reminded of their youth and return home more understanding of their children.

Elgar remembered this story and the music he composed as a teenager and used it to compose the Wand of Youth Suite in 1907 and a second suite followed a year later.