CITY Park was filled with the sound of brass bands, choirs, singer songwriters and hundreds of children singing Journey and Lady Gaga when the city joined in a national music day today.

Organised by the BBC and supported by Bradford Council’s Music and Arts Service, Music Day was held at numerous venues across the country, and Bradford was the only place in Yorkshire that was taking part.

City Park was the scene for most of the events, with hundreds of schoolchildren taking to the stage for a mass sing along and a "body percussion" session.

Thousands of people took part in the fun as the day went on, and as the celebration continued into the evening, some of Yorkshire's biggest up and coming bands performed, with the day broadcast live on numerous radio stations.

Elsewhere, the BBC Philharmonic players joined up with musicians from the Kala Sangam centre to perform a piece specifically composed for the event as part of Radio 3’s In Tune programme.

It was the inaugural Music Day, and was organised to bring people together across generations and communities through their love of music. As the sun shone on City Park this goal appeared to be a success, with people of all generations and backgrounds enjoying the music and dancing in the street.

The acts playing highlighted the diversity of the district's music scene. The Bradford Festival Choral Society, established in 1856 and who describe themselves as "one of the most exciting bands in the North", was one of the groups performing. Guitar groups from Ilkley and Bradford serenaded crowds, as did string group Masharti.

The day provided an opportunity for young people to play to the large crowds. Youth acts included the Dixons Trinity Academy Choir and an African themed performance from Keelham Primary School.

One of the highlights was undoubtedly when 700 pupils took to the stage for the Big Sing. After weeks of rehearsals children belted out their versions of pop songs like Journey's Don't Stop Believin' and Clean Bandit's strings infused Rather Be.

Micky Dolenz' vocals were replaced by the voices of hundreds of school children for an uplifting version of The Monkees' classic I'm a Believer, and the huge choir even mashed up songs like Lady Gaga's Paparazzi and David Guetta's club banger Titanium.

The children returned to the stage later in the afternoon for an eye catching body percussion performance, where their bodies became instruments.

During these performances the crowd of hundreds of Bradfordians got into the spirit of the day, clapping, singing and dancing along.

Bradford Youth Brass Band joined Hammonds Saltaire Band for a special collaboration the Bradford Youth Orchestra performed with the prestigious Southbank Sinfonia.

Throughout the day there were queues for the BBC Experience Tent, which gave young people the opportunity to practice reading the news, present the weather and meet characters from CBeebies.

Between the main stage performances, buskers from Bradford serenaded the crowds. Singer songwriter Lynsey Cawthra was born in Bradford but now lives in Leeds. She said: "I busk in Leeds but Bradford is still where my heart is."

As the day went on, top local bands took over the stage, with sets from Maggie 8, Negative Panda, the Mexanines and headliners Man Can’t Fly.

Karen O'Connor is a music teacher at Byron Primary School in Barkerend, which provided 86 children for the gigantic choir. She said: "They have been rehearsing for a few months. They were all really excited about coming down here today and taking part. As a school we try to get involved in anything musical like this.

"Today has just been a brilliant day."

As the evening drew in, the park's Big Screen went live to a special edition of Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night.

Other cities involved include Bristol, Liverpool and Portsmouth.