Even by Truro Cathedral Choir's ambitious standards, their concert on Friday, September 30, will be extraordinary.

First of all, they will be joined by the City of London Sinfonia, one of the UK's most prestigious chamber orchestras. Secondly, the full cathedral choir, with both its boy and girl choristers as well as the orchestra, will be conducted by Stephen Layton, one of the most distinguished choral conductors of our time.

Thirdly, the musical programme is out of this world. Handel's four Coronation Anthems are some of the most joyous, life-affirming pieces you will ever hear, not least, Zadok the Priest; then there is Bach's Orchestral Suite Number 3 and Handel's Cuckoo and the Nightingale organ concerto, in which the soloist will be Truro Cathedral's own Luke Bond.

But perhaps most significantly of all, the choir and orchestra will be privileged to give the world premiere of O Give Thanks Unto The Lord by James MacMillan who is widely regarded as being among the greatest living composers and having a premiere of his here in Cornwall is a significant event.

Truro Cathedral's director of music, Christopher Gray, said: "I cannot tell you how much fun the choir has been having learning Handel's Coronation Anthems. Every phrase bounces with a joie de vivre it's impossible to put across in words. We have also been working hard at the new James MacMillan piece. It's a great responsibility, as well as a great honour, to be giving the first performance of a work by this pre-eminent composer. It is not short of a few technical challenges for the performers, but the music is incredible - profound but easily accessible on first listening."

The concert at Truro Cathedral will start at 7.30pm. Tickets priced from £10 to £25 are available from cls.co.uk or by calling 020 76212800.