BURY youngsters are to be the given the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of young urban recording artists such as Ms Dynamite thanks to a new series of music workshops.

Greater Manchester Music Action Zone (GMMAZ) is working with The Met in Bury to produce the first stage of a series of workshops for the town's young people.

Beat 2003 will concentrate on urban styles and participants will have the chance to learn more about the arts of MCing, DJing, singing and using computer technology to create up-to-the-minute tracks over the run of a five week project. The project was developed as a result of The Met's commitment to the creativity of the town's young people, while GMMAZ is known for its work with music development for the under-18s across Greater Manchester.

Workshop participants have been recruited through a series of taster sessions run in the youth clubs in and around Bury earlier this year. Those taking part include the Mosses Centre, Bury, and the Elton Centre, Elton, as well as Radcliffe's Boys and Girls Club and the Shuttle Centre in Whitefield.

The Met and GMMAZ together with the Bury Youth Offending Team will be working on the workshops with four tutors -- Maria Marcial (vocal techniques), Jeff McDonald (music technology), Owen Haisley (MCing) and Junah Baiely (DJing).

The five week course will cover songwriting, creating musical tracks using music software, writing/burning CDs, DJing and MCing. The project will conclude with the creation of a special CD of recorded work and there is the chance that a showcase event will follow.

Any youngsters interested in joining the next round of Beat 2003 workshops can contact The Met on 0161 761 2216.