A SERIES of candlelit Christmas concerts around the region will boast a special guest soloist – pint-sized violin maestro Leia Zhu.

Five-year-old Leia made her public debut in front of a big audience at the North East Last Night of the Proms concert at Newcastle City Hall in October.

Needless to say, her seemingly nerveless performance stole the show.

Now the youngster, from Whickham, Gateshead, is on this year’s Candlelit Christmas Concert Tour which takes in concerts in Carlisle, Hexham, Newcastle and Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Leia, who is a remarkably accomplished musician for her age, is unlikely to be fazed by the audience in any venue she performs at. On the other hand, she is guaranteed to generate warm applause.

The candlelit concerts have become a popular addition to the North East Christmas calendar.

David Haslam will conduct the English Philharmonic Ensemble who will be joined by The Singers at the concerts in Carlisle and the North East and by the Beverley Singers for the concert in Beverley Minster on December 23.

The programme will feature Christmas classics including Torelli’s Christmas Concerto, Winter from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and a selection from Handel’s Messiah.

And there will be another special soloist, the mezzo-soprano Suzanne Manuel, who also appears regularly in the charity Proms concert and hosts her own concert at Newcastle Civic Centre in the spring.