The Bridgewater Hall is hosting a unique dementia friendly music festival involving 30 organisations this Friday.
The festival has been curated over the last year in close collaboration with over 150 local people who are living with a dementia diagnosis.
It will feature new music composed and performed by people living with dementia, alongside an ensemble of musicians from The Hallé and Manchester Camerata orchestras, So Many Beauties Intercultural Collective and students from the Royal Norther College Music.
The So Many Beauties project was established in 2016 by local musician Holly Marland. She is passionate about working creatively with people living with dementia and bringing their voices to the fore.
With the support of Arts Council England, So Many Beauties has engaged with over 1000 people living with dementia and offered specialised training to more than 50 professional musicians and students in Greater Manchester.
Holly said: “It’s an enormous privilege to spend time with people living with dementia from diverse communities. Society tends to forget that these wonderful people have so much wit, wisdom and creative energy despite the different diseases affecting their brains. There’s been so much love and laughter in the making of this festival and I really hope people will go home with a sense of positivity about living well with dementia.”
Lucy Geddes, director of String of Hearts CIC said: “Being involved in the So Many Beauties project has been a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talents and skills of older people in our community, no matter your background or experience. String of Hearts is passionate about supporting people who are isolated and living with long term conditions to connect through music, and the So Many Beauties Festival enabled us to come together with local residents and organisations to celebrate and learn from each other.”
Andrew Nesbitt, community engagement manager from The Bridgewater Hall, said: “Showcasing and celebrating the amazing creativity and music of dementia groups from across Greater Manchester is really special for us – we can’t wait to welcome So Many Beauties and the hundreds of participants, performers and festival-goers.”
