FIFTY musical events will take place in Southampton to mark the golden anniversary of city status.

From string concertos to jazz and guitar ensembles, a host of musical events will be held as part of the 50@50 series.

It is just one of a number of initiatives taking place to mark the anniversary of Southampton becoming a city, which has seen organisations, businesses and residents make pledges to improve the city.

Starting today, musical events organised by Southampton Music Hub will take place in a variety of different venues up to June 30.

At 6pm tomorrow there will be an Acorn String and Elgar Strings concert at Cantell School, while there will be a Southampton Wind Band performance at the O2 Guildhall at 10.30am on Wednesday.

On Saturday, the City Art Gallery will host a choral performance by the Shirley Warren Community Choir, Southampton Clarient Chorale and the Southampton Choral Society, while flute and string combo the Galeazzi Ensemble will be at Turner Sims at 7pm.

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will perform Pirates Ahoy! at Turner Sims and the Scratch Windband will feature at Cantell School.

The Brass Bands Summer Concert will take place at Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church on June 21, while Ikea will be the unusual venue for a performance by Southampton Young Strings on June 23.

On June 26 the Church of the Ascension will play host to a charity concert by guitar ensemble Twango and the Love Soul Choir will put on a special performance at WestQuay Shopping Centre two days later.

Then on June 30 there will be a Jazz Orchestra and Panatical performance at the Hanger Farm Arts Centre, while schools will be putting on their own performances, which are not open to the public, throughout the month.

City council leader Simon Letts said: “We’ve always had a good reputation for developing musical talent in the city and we are really pleased that Southampton Music Hub is putting on a series of events to celebrate the city and the talent of our young people.

“It really is a showcase for the musical talent we have in the city.”

To find out more, visit http://southamptonmusichub.org/50at50/.