PIANIST Helen Crayford will be swapping the classical repertoire for ragtime when she performs in County Durham later this month.

Helen kicks off an autumn season of lunchtime concerts at the dli Museum, in Durham City, with her Rags to Riches programme. The concert will trace the history of ragtime from its origins through to the 1940s.

It includes music by Scott Joplin, Fats Waller and George Gershwin. Other artists performing during the next few months include Radoslav Kvapil, who is widely regarded as the finest Czech pianist of his generation, and international pianist Faith Leadbetter who recently won the Premier Prix from the Geneva Conservatoire.

The autumn season will be brought to an end by the four-part ensemble, Concert Royal, which will perform Jane Austen's Musical England.

Rags to Riches will start at 1pm on Wednesday, September 26.

Full details of the concerts for the season are available from the dli on 0191-384 2214.