IT'S not often you hear a classical musician describe the genre as needing a good "kick up the backside".

But Beverley Davison, or as she describes herself, 'Dawn French on the violin', prides herself on her off-the-wall attitude to her forte and her commitment to changing the way classics are presented.

Playing since the age of four and training at The Yehudi Menuhin School, she toured the world as a soloist until the experience left her increasingly despondent and disillusioned.

A complete revamp and recruitment of like-minded female classical musicians later, the aptly named Hot Strings was born.

"I began to realise it wasn't the music I disliked but the way it was being presented. For me, it didn't work," she said.

"Music is wonderful and there should be no barriers to it."

It's a concept she hopes to demonstrate tomorrow night at Hereford's Courtyard Theatre, where she and Europe's first female orchestra take to the stage with Classical Cabaret.

Billed as going against the "staid and stuffy traditions you might expect from this stereotypically sophisticated affair", the concert purports to "give classical music a kick up the backside" and make it fun.

And to prove it, Hot Strings have already received critical acclaim internationally for their unique take on works by composers ranging from Mozart to Gershwin, Nyman to Bluegrass.

"I wanted to create something which showed what virtuoso women players could do," said Davison.

"There was previously a bit of a glass ceiling on the ambitions of talented female musicians."

With Beverley's international virtuoso solo violin talent fronting her ensemble, Classical Cabaret with Hot Strings is an upbeat mix of music, chat and audience interaction.

A spokesman describes it as a concert with "dedication and passion that shine through, classical music at its best - moving, approachable, fun and thoroughly entertaining.

But Davison puts it far more succinctly.

"It's stonking," she said.

"It certainly gets people on their feet - if only because I tell them to - attracting people who wouldn't normally come to a classical concert, which shows it has a wider appeal.

"There are the die-hard classical music fans as well, but we're doing a broad range of classics and approach them differently.

"This is 'adrenaline to smooth classics' and beyond".

For tickets, call the Box Office on 01432 359252.