Rochdale students prepare for the show of their lives

Musical director Maxwell Wright with Aaran Pettit and Tobi Afolabi

A group of Rochdale students are rehearsing for the biggest show of their lives.

The 25 young musicians are to perform at Manchester's Contact theatre on 4 June in front of over 290 people.

Half term week will see the group, aged 11-24, work alongside 75 other young people from all over Greater Manchester.

Under the musical direction of Maxwell Wright from award winning Barcelona band Ojos de Brujo, they will pull together an hour long set with influences including hip hop, flamenco,rock and R&B.

The show, called On Top of the World, marks the 10th anniversary of music education company Greater Manchester Music Action Zone (GMMAZ).

The young performers have had to learn to put aside their musical differences and play together.

Multi-talented Tobi Afolabi, 20, from Kirkholt, is studying music technology at Bury College. He sings and plays keyboards and drums. He said: "I like everything from rock to hip hop to R&B. They encourage us to make music with everyone and explore different types of music."

Hard rock fan Aaran Pettit, 17, who studies sports at Bury College, said: "I'd never picked up an electric guitar before I came here. I did play a bit of bass. Now I'm improving with both and have just formed a band. We haven't got a name yet, but we're influenced by thrash metal."

The project, a partnership between Greater Manchester Music Action Zone (GMMAZ), Take pART, link4life and The Backdoor Project has been meeting every Thursday evening at The Backdoor Project at the Broadwater Centre on Smith Street.

GMMAZ has worked with over 11,000 young people all over Greater Manchester since 2000.

Charles Morrison, head of operations for GMMAZ, said: "Reaching our first 10 years is a significant milestone for the company. We have enjoyed working with many amazing young people from Rochdale and look forward to future projects."