SONGS inspired by Dorset will be performed at Portland’s St George’s Church by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra musicians and the Freedance Choir on Friday.

The concert, called Water and Stone, will also feature the second performance of a new piece by Bridport musician Sammy Hurden called The Hare and the Harp, inspired by an ancient carving which is now in Dorset County Museum.

Friday’s event is the latest in a series of collaborations by Artsreach, the BSO’s Resonate Strings and the Freedance Choir, directed by Sammy Hurden, which has seen Dorset-inspired music performed in rural locations.

Joining the performers on Friday will be Portland singers who previously worked with Sammy on compositions celebrating Portland’s sea-faring and quarrying heritage. There will also be Sammy’s original music from Jurassic Journey, inspired by the Dorset coast, as well as memorable pieces from the orchestral repertoire that touch on South Dorset’s heritage.

The Hare and the Harp, which rounds off the concert, was first performed last November at Powerstock church. The piece features church bells – and will be using the bell in historic St George’s church as well as handbells.

Sammy first heard about the carving of the harp-playing hare while she was living in Wytherstone, near Powerstock, where the carving was found. While the carving’s exact origins and meaning are unknown, Sammy became fascinated with hare mythology the more she delved into it, and this is reflected in her lyrics.

“There was a hill behind my house when I lived there and my image is of the harp on the hill and the hare running up to play it. The hare plays the harp in the moonlight and sends out wishes for growth and abundance. In Celtic times the hare was connected with the goddess Eostre and would lay a white egg and was a sign of abundance and fertility – that’s where the Easter bunny came from,” she said.

Alongside the BSO musicians the all-important harp will be provided by Jane Saunders. Trumpeter Jim Dvorak and percussionist Ben Stephens complete the line-up.

The concert starts at 8pm and costs £8 for adults, £6 for under-18s or £25 for a family of four. Tickets are available from Artsreach on 01305 269512.