THE sound of the Northumbrian pipes will ring out across the Solent on Sunday afternoon when folk star Kathryn Tickell plays an open-air concert at Southsea Bandstand.

Like many of today's new breed of folk musicians, Kathryn comes from a musical background.

She was born in the North Tyne Valley of Northumberland in 1964, and her father was an acclaimed folk singer.

Kathryn took up the Northumbrian smallpipes at the age of nine, and by the time she was 13 had won all the traditional open smallpipes competitions and was making a name for herself as a fiddle player.

Aged 16, Kathryn released her first album, On Kielderside, in 1980, turning professional two years later and releasing her second album, Borderlands.

In 1988 Kathryn's precocious musical skills were recognised with the award of top instrumentalist in the Folk Roots Poll.

Her third album, Common Ground, was chosen as one of Q magazine's records of the year.

She formed the Kathryn Tickell Band in 1990 and spent the next two years putting all her energy into the band, recording two albums and touring extensively throughout the world.

In March 1997 Kathryn's sixth album, The Gathering, was released, leading to a television appearance on Later with Jools Holland.

Kathryn also began presenting programmes featuring young musicians throughout Britain on Radio Two.

The same year she founded the Young Musicians Fund to help young people in the north-east try to realise their musical potential.

Since then Kathryn has presented a series of TV programmes on music composition for Channel 4 schools, released several more albums including her tenth, Back To The Hills, last year, and continued to tour all over the world.

As if trips to Uganda, Canada, Italy and France and continual tours around the UK were not enough to occupy her time, she also took on the role of part-time lecturer on the new Folk and Traditional Music degree course at Newcastle University.

Kathryn's concert at Southsea next Sunday opens with a support spot from Southampton folk rock outfit Mary Jane at 2pm.