special Heritage Concert which is being presented by the Gilbert & Sullivan Society in St. John's Church this weekend.

Director Mrs. Marjorie Pettit has chosen a varied programme that will embrace choral works by Bach and Mozart, a Mendolssohn concerto and excerpts from a Bizet opera.

St. John's Flower Guild has scheduled a flower festival for the occasion, with arrangements that reflect a musical theme.

After the success of last year's concert in honour of Mozart's bicentenary, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society and Mrs. Pettit decided to repeat the experiment and have assembled an even bigger, specially selected choir and orchestra for this year's event.

"I was very keen to do the Bach Magnificat,'' says Mrs. Pettit. "Although it is quite a short work it does have a `magnificent' setting that requires a five-part chorus and soloists, with an orchestra of trumpets, oboes, strings and continuo.'' Bermudian Garry Burgess will again return home from the State University of New York where he is Professor of Voice and Opera, to sing the tenor role and guest artist Brian Zunner will sing bass. The other leading soloists will be Akiko Murakami (soprano) and Nancy Chisling (mezzo-soprano). Miss Kerry Haslam of the Menuhin Foundation will again lead the orchestra.

Another highlight of this year's concert will be the return to Bermuda of Miss Sheila Roberts who will be the soloist in the Violin Concerto in E Minor by Mendelssohn.

A teacher with the Menuhin Foundation until last July, Miss Roberts crowned her many performances here with a memorable performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Bermuda Philharmonic. On her return to the UK, Miss Roberts became a member of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

"It all happened rather suddenly,'' she says with a laugh. "I did the audition one day and they rang me up the next and asked if I could play that night -- so I didn't have time to be nervous. It was a bit of a nightmare, because I had to play Gershwin's An American in Paris and it's a terrible piece to sight-read!'' The young musician who will be playing in the opening concert of this year's Edinburgh Festival and will participate in three of the world-famous Promenade Concerts at London's Albert Hall, became a violinist "by accident''. Like most children at her primary school in Essex, she played the recorder. The headmaster's daughter was taking violin lessons and one day a curious Miss Roberts picked up her violin and began to play.

Although her comprehensive school had a music centre where lessons were free of charge, she says her parents made many sacrifices to provide her with good violins and extra private lessons. During her time at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama she also became co-leader of the World Youth Orchestra.

Miss Roberts says that Bermuda is very lucky to have the Menuhin Foundation.

"Children have a wonderful opportunity here. It's incredible that the Menuhin scheme is available in (I think) every primary school on the Island.'' She says she loved teaching here, but after a couple of years, realised that she was missing the performance side of things -- hence her decision to return to the UK.

Last week, Miss Roberts, with Mrs. Pettit on the piano, had set to work rehearsing the Mendelssohn concerto and were thrilled -- and relieved -- to realise that they were both in total agreement as to how the work should be approached.

"The tempi can vary a lot, epecially with Mendelssohn, so we have sorted out that out before we get together with the orchestra for three final rehearsals,'' explains Mrs. Pettit.

Gary Burgess and Brian Zunner will join forces for one of opera's loveliest and most popular duets, from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers.

The programme will commence and close with two short choral works by Mozart, the Benedictus Sit Deus and Veni Sancte Spiritus. And Mozart-worshipper Mrs.

Pettit admits, "I just had to squeeze him in somewhere. The two pieces are very short but will fit in well as they were written for a full festival orchestra. It's almost impossible to realise that when Mozart composed these pieces, he was only twelve years old!'' Mrs. Marjorie Stanton, Gilbert and Sullivan Society President and producer of the concert, says she is thrilled that the St. John's Flower Guild has again arranged their annual flower festival to coincide with the concert. "It makes such a difference to walk into a church that's filled with flowers, wonderfully arranged,'' she says.

Mrs. Jean Masters, with committee partners Mrs. Pat Young and Mrs. Vicky Conyers are leading a team of 20 volunteers who will create wreaths and garlands of flowers woven with musical note ribbon motifs. Says Mrs. Masters: "The colour scheme will be just yellow and white, with the greenery. We are also planning to have busts of Bach and Mozart -- suitably garlanded, of course -- on pedestals at each side of the south entrance. I think the church will look beautiful for the concert. This is our most ambitious effort yet.'' There will be two performances, on Friday May 15 and Saturday, May 16 at 8 p.m.

Programmes at $18 are available at the Visitors Service Bureau Box Office, Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., or may be obtained at the door.

MISS SHEILA ROBERTS, who will play Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto at this week's Bermuda Heritage Concert.