A series of free virtual concerts launching this Friday will offer a showcase for North East music talents.

The Lit & Phil, Newcastle ‘s oldest library, has been embracing the online world during lockdown – despite being hit financially by the pandemic – and now is going one step further by hosting virtual concerts for music fans who are missing out on live gigs.

And it is all thanks to an unnamed member of the library who has financed the autumn series which also supports the local music community by giving musicians a share of the spotlight at a time when restrictions have been further tightened region-wide.

Now reopened to its members, the 1793 library in Westgate Road – full name The Literary & Philosophical Society – is the largest independent library outside London with a collection of nearly 200,000 books.

With recordings, scores and books, it is said to house the biggest collection of music in the North too and has also earned its place in the city’s jazz and classical music scene by presenting – pre-coronavirus – at least two concerts a month.

Now it turns its music focus online and between September 25 and October 23 will be presenting five special 30-minute concerts by professional musicians who have all been past favourites on its programme.

Representing a range of options for music fans will be baroque cello and violin duo Miriam Nohl and Marguerite Wassermann, who will be performing first on September 25; jazz piano and sax duo Paul Edis and Graeme Wilson; classical violinist John Garner and historic keyboard player John Treherne.

Rounding off the series will be a finale by pianists Alison Gill and Yoshie Kawamura playing Saint Saens’ Carnival of the Animals and Faurè’s Dolly Suite.

The concerts will be free – although it is hoped that listeners will make a donation to the musicians or to the library – and each will go live on the Lit & Phil’s YouTube channel every Friday lunch-time at 1pm. The concerts then will remain on the channel following the broadcasts.

The Lit & Phil’s music librarian James Smith said: “Music has been an important part of the Lit &a Phil for much of its 200-year history and we know how much our concerts are enjoyed.

“Although we can’t currently present them live in our beautiful building, we can offer the next best thing by bringing the music virtually into people’s homes.”

Library trustee and professional musician Andrew Harvey said that it is important to reconnect musicians with their audiences.

“The artists are missing the performances just as much as the audiences are missing them,” he said.

“We feel we are in a unique position to be able to help remedy this as best we can until the world situation goes back to normal.”

Viewers of the concerts are being encouraged to make a donation to the musicians, or to the library if preferred, to help continue the music programme beyond October.

For more information about the venue, its plans and how to become a member see here.