West End star Julie Atherton – who we interviewed for our summer issue – is to join fellow performers Daniel Boys, Helena Blackman, Clare Foster, Alex Jessop, Sarah Lark and Paul Spicer in a showcase celebrating the work of 25 year old musical theatre composer Michael Bruce.

The gala concert entitled Michael Bruce: A Little Less Ordinary, is to play for one night only at the Apollo Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the autumn and is billed as “an exceptionally rare event”. The performance will be a platform into the West End for the talented composer with songs performed by the UK's hottest young musical theatre stars.

Winner of the groundbreaking Notes for the Stage competition in 2007, which was co-promoted by West End show series Notes from New York and The Stage, Michael Bruce offers a burgeoning ray of hope for the future of the British musical. Since winning the competition, this gifted young songwriter has been nurtured by the young producers behind it.

Bruce graduated as a musical director and songwriter and started work on a variety of shows

Bruce began his love of theatre as a dancer in the Scottish National Ballet. Career advisors tried to persuade him to study law due to his academic achievements, however the songwriter within was beginning to rise to the surface and it wasn't long before he successfully auditioned and enrolled at the prestigious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, where he studied voice as a singer and songwriter. Bruce graduated as a musical director and songwriter and started work on a variety of shows in London, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Lincoln. His show Ed receives its professional premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next month.

Michael Bruce: A Little Less Ordinary is produced by Neil Eckersley and Paul Spicer for Speckulation Entertainment in association with Notes from New York, and will be performed on Sunday 1st November 2009 at the Apollo Theatre.