A NORWEGIAN choir are set to entertain Romsey residents with an evening of music this month.

Norwegian Boychoir Sølvguttene will be performing in Romsey Abbey, Church Lane, as part of their first tour to the UK in more than a decade.

The 'boys of silver' once performed in front of a 50,000 audience, as well as for kings, queens and presidents.

Music lovers can expect to hear traditional Norwegian folk music, classical music by Händel and Mozart and tunes from Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Oslo-born conductor and singer Frikk Heide-Steen, said: "The choir is quite different to an English choir with the most significant difference being the sound and power, because there are 40 boys and 15 male singers.

"I think the power of the soprano voice is our biggest strength and there will be English and pop music as well from artists such as Howard Blake.

"This is the first big tour I am conducting and it is quite exciting for us to come back to England as well."

Sølvguttene's biggest performance was in 1996 when they sang to the "Queen and the Norwegian queen in Westminster", according to Frikk.

Frikk was appointed to lead Sølvguttene as assistant conductor in 2011, having joined the choir at eight-years-old.

The choir was founded in 1940 and has been a cultural ambassador for Norway, boasting 150 performances a year.

Sølvguttene is heavily known in Norway for its ties with the Christmas season, as the choir annually appears on a televised Christmas special in a concert of carols.

The choir also has a history of journeying to London at Christmas for the lighting of the big Norwegian Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square - an annual gift from Norway to the UK.

Sølvguttene will be performing in Romsey on September 28 at 7.30pm.

Tickets for the event can be bought through Ticket Source and cost £15, while senior and disabled tickets cost £12 and student tickets are £10.

The next leg of the choir's tour will see the boys perform a lunchtime recital at Christchurch Priory on September 29.

Their tour will conclude on October 3 when the choir will sing in the capital at St. James’s Church, Piccadilly.