A NEW series of classical music concerts in Helensburgh begins next weekend - and there’ll be a new venue for local music lovers to enjoy too.

The Helensburgh Music Society’s 38th annual season of performances will take place for the first time at the Tower Digital Arts Centre – and with five concerts taking place between now and March of next year, there’s no shortage of choice in the programme.

Kicking off the Saturday night series on October 21 are the Tim Klpihuis Trio, who will be followed by the Kapten Piano Trio on December 2, Kosmos on January 13 and Cavendish Winds on February 17, before the series ends with a performance by ‘duo b!z’art’ on March 17.

The Tim Klpihuis Trio, comprising Nigel Clark on guitar and Roy Percy on double bass alongside the eponymous leader on violin, will play music by Duke Ellington, Gabriel Faure, Paganini, Richard Strauss and Stephane Grappelli as well as Tim Kliphuis himself in their 10th anniversary concert, also celebrating their recently-released Vivaldi album, ‘Reflecting the Seasons’.

The Kapten Trio, on December 2, features Kristi Kapten (piano), Rachel Spencer (violin) and Duncan Strachan (cello), playing a programme of works by Beethoven, Shostakovich and Schubert.

The first concert of the new year features a unique trio of award-winning international musicians – Harriet MacKenzie on violin, Meg Hamilton on viola and Milos Milivojevic on accordion.

Together known as Kosmos, their music is heavily influenced by the music of Greece, Turkey and Japan, and by sounds of Jewish origin, as well as the sensuous and rhythmic tango.

Their concert, on January 13, will be preceded by an ‘all age workshop’, also taking place at the Tower, at 3pm on the day of their performance.

In February the featured artists are Cavendish Winds - a quintet comprising Katy ovens (flute), Henry Clay (oboe), Alice Quayle (bassoon), Charlie Ransley (French horn) and Mary Tyler (clarinet) – whose programme will include works by several less well known composers, such as Franz Danzi, Astor Piazzolla and Gyorgy Ligeti, as well as three of Malcolm Arnold’s famous and much-loved sea shanties.

The last concert in the series sees ‘duo b!z’art’ take to the stage on March 17, when two pianists, Andre Roe and Geoffrey Baptiste, will entertain with a selection of works by Brahms, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Schumann and others.

In addition to the music, audience members at the December and February concerts will also be able to enjoy interval exhibitions, with Chantal Balmer’s textiles on show at the former and model boats by Derek Spall at the latter.

Entry to each concert costs £12, though there’s discounted entry available for students (£5) and under-18s (£1).

Subscription tickets priced £40 ensure entry to all five concerts and can be booked by contacting the society’s membership secretary, David Menzies, on (01436) 671969, while single tickets can also be bought online and in person by visiting the Tower.

All the concerts in the programme begin at 7.30pm and are supported by Argyll and Bute Council, Enterprise Music Scotland and the Tunnell Trust.