According to Deep-Purple.net, former DEEP PURPLE keyboard legend Jon Lord is busy writing a classical piece to celebrate Durham University’s 175th anniversary. The Durham Concertos will be performed (and recorded) in October 2007 inside Durham Cathedral by The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

The event should be open to the public with tickets available towards the end of the summer. Durham really seem to be making a big thing of this, their executive committee has a "vision for the Jon Lord composition to act as a catalyst, raising the University’s international profile in key markets."

According to the local paper, The Northern Echo, Lord was approached to write the music by the university's vice-chancellor, Sir Kenneth Calman, the Government's former chief medical officer. A university spokeswoman has added: "The work has been specifically composed for Durham University by Jon Lord. It is unclear if Jon Lord himself will be performing.

The confirmed date is October 20th 2007 but tickets are still not on sale. In the meantime The Durham Concerto will be recorded in Liverpool with The Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra at the end of July, and released on CD to tie in with the Durham performance.

In other Lord news, the official Malcolm Arnold website has announced a new performance of Concerto For Group & Orchestra. This will form a centrepiece of the 2007 Malcolm Arnold Festival which will be held at the Royal & Derngate Theatre, in the composer’s hometown of Northampton, over the weekend of October 6/7, 2007.

The gala evening concert planned for the main auditorium on Sunday 7th will see Paul Mann conduct Jon Lord and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a special recreation of the original Deep Purple/RPO concert at the Albert Hall. Lord will play the keyboards.

The evening is currently structured to run as follows:

- Jon Lord : Masque (Jon's musical portrait of Sir Malcolm from his Disguises piece).
- Sir Malcolm Arnold : Symphony No.6 (as performed back in 1969).
- Interval
- Jon Lord : Concerto for Group and Orchestra

Tickets for the Concerto for Group and Orchestra at the Royal & Derngate Theatre in Northampton are now on sale: at www.royalandderngate.co.uk.