DR Donald Hunt OBE, organist and master of the choristers of Worcester Cathedral for 21 years, will conduct his 150th performance of Handel's Messiah tomorrow (Saturday).

The performance, in the cathedral, concludes the Festival of Music organised by the Elgar School of Music, of which Dr Hunt is the principal.

The Elgar Chorale will sing the Messiah, and the soloists are Luise Horrocks, Catherine King, Wilhelm Theunissen and Tom Hunt.

Schoolboy Matthew Parry will sing the treble recitative, Adrian Partington will play the organ and Barry Smith, organist of St George's Cathedral, Cape Town, the harpsichord. The orchestra is the Elgar Camerata, led by Loius Carus.

Before coming to Worcester, Dr Hunt was director of music at Leeds Parish Church and conductor and choir trainer for such notable Yorkshire choirs as the Leeds Festival Chorus, Leeds Philharmonic Society and Halifax Choral Society.

During his time at Worcester Cathedral, he was artistic director and conductor at eight Three Choirs Festivals. He has worked with most of the main British orchestras and is well-known internationally as a conductor, composer, lecturer and adjudicator.

Some years ago, Dr Hunt conducted Worcester Festival Chorus for his 100th Messiah.

The performance will raise funds for the small national charity, Neimann-Pick Disease Group. This group finances research into a group of rare but life-threatening genetic disorders which affect children and young people.

Tickets, priced from from £5 to £15, are available from the cathedral's gift shop, the tourist information office at the Guildhall or from the school of music.