AN award-winning musician visited the county to answer questions about his own journey to success at an annual Herefordshire Music Service conference.

Julian Lloyd Webber, the younger brother of Andrew and a renowned cellist in his own right, attended the school music conference at the Three Counties Hotel.

He was interviewed for an hour by Cliff Woollard, the head of Herefordshire Music Service, in an informal setting in front of the delegates – several of whom had the opportunity to ask their own questions.

The discussion covered a wide range of topics from why he decided to learn the cello to questions relating to the national reduction of the importance of music in schools.

Mr Woollard said: “It was a tremendous privilege to interview such a famous and talented musician, who has done so much for music education in this country.

"He answered all of our questions and shared a wealth of advice and experience to inspire our school music teachers. We are delighted that he agreed to join us for the day and was happy to meet everyone – and pose for numerous photos.”

The conference, now in its third year, was attended by around 90 delegates and included a range of workshops.

These were provided by a mix of both national music education training specialists and experienced local trainers

The event was established to help provide support, training and networking opportunities for school music teachers – many of whom are the only specialist music teacher in their school.

The success and popularity of the conference meant that schools from Worcestershire and Gloucestershire also attended and delegates were entertained by the talented Bosbury Primary School Choir.