More than 320 young people from across Scotland joined Nicola Benedetti on stage as part of an ensemble performance.

The Festival of Strings day at Caird Hall in Dundee was the culmination of three Super Strings Sessions for the musicians, led by the violinist and Big Noise.

All the children who took part play violin, viola, cello and double bass and had previously attended practises with her.

Ms Benedetti, of North Ayrshire, said: “This has been an immense opportunity for me, personally, to give something back to Scotland as part of my work advocating for high quality music education and the impact it can have.

“I have enjoyed every minute of playing and interacting with these children and young people, hearing their thoughts and opinions and being a part of everything that is great about making music together.

“The transformative power of music is clear – it brings people together, creating a sense of unity and community and fosters collaboration and learning.

“I have seen at first-hand how the children’s confidence, concentration and playing has improved and how creative and passionate they are about their music.”

Nicola Benedetti with young performers
Youngsters from Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling and Glasgow joined the violinist (Jeff Holmes/PA)

More than 2,500 children attend Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise programme across Scotland every week.

Big Noise uses the symphony orchestra and learning a musical instrument to help children with a wide range of social and life skills.

It has four centres in Stirling, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.

Nicola Killean, chief executive of Sistema Scotland, said: “The Festival of Strings is a brilliant finale to the Super Strings Sessions which were a huge success.

“Working with Nicola Bendetti has been truly inspirational for the children and the teachers.

“I hope it is an experience which will stay with them for the rest of their lives and gives them the confidence and skills to continue to make music together and improve their string playing.”