A PROMINENT US composer has cancelled two consecutive trips to a Blackburn music shop -- because of September 11 and the war in Iraq.

Jane Bastien, from New Orleans, was so worried of terrorist reprisals following the outbreak of war she has cancelled her date at Time and Tune music shop, Preston New Road.

Now music shop owner Edward Haythornwhite has expressed his disappointment as teachers and pupils of the piano who wanted to meet and hear some of her work have been left disappointed for a second time. Jane Bastien is a renowned composer, concert artist and teacher who works from the Tulane University in New Orleans.

She has co-authored more than 300 books with her husband and children.

She conducts piano masterclasses throughout the world and is a well-known author for teachers of the piano in East Lancashire. She has visited other major cities in the UK before but the meeting in March was set to be the first time she had ever been to Blackburn.

Mr Haythornwhite has run Time and Tune, which is based below Blackburn School of Music, for four years with wife Anitra.

He said: "We were looking forward to her visit. She is very popular and very renowned.

"It was the first time she would have visited Blackburn.

"This was her European tour and had been planned since last summer. The last one should have been in September 2001 and she cancelled because of what happened in New York.

"We can understand why she has cancelled but as it turned out she did not have anything to worry about.

"Now we will have to re-arrange it some time in the future."