MUSIC festival organisers have welcomed a major cash boost of £15,000.

Ripon International Festival will use the money to bring musicians, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and acclaimed guitarist Morgan Szymanski, to the county for the two-week event in September.

The grant is part of £700,000 distributed by Arts Council England to 54 projects across Yorkshire and the Humberside.

Brian Parker, chairman of the trustees of the World Trust, which runs the festival, said: "It's extremely expensive, both with their fees and expenses, to bring these musicians to Ripon.

"I don't think we could carry on, at least not to the same scale, without this help from the Arts Council."

His wife, Moroulla, who helps run the event, said: "People come from as far away as Oxford to the festival. There's music for everyone and the event is good for Ripon.

"It's money well spent and we are very grateful at the Arts Council."

Other festival highlights include an evening with David Nobbs, the author of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, and a piano recital by Veronika Ilinskaya, plus a stately home open day, at Aske Hall, near Richmond.

There are also plans to run a school outreach programme.

Other North Yorkshire organisations to benefit from Arts Council England's support include Northern Lights Theatre Company, in Pickering, which has received £26,000 to tour with the JB Priestley play, The Long Mirror, in April 2006.

Arts development consultant Stella Murrell has received nearly £5,000 to run a training and development programme for artists in Ryedale.

And the Yorkshire Coast Open Studios, in Scarborough, has been awarded £3,000 to promote the work of 50 artists along the Yorkshire coast through its annual open studios event.

Andy Carver, executive director of Arts Council England, Yorkshire, said: "These grants support a wide range of arts activity across the region, opening up new opportunities for people and communities to participate in and experience the arts."

Ripon International Festival runs from September 3 to 17.

For more details, visit www.riponinternationalfestival.com