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PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Since 2022 we have run live music events in rural communities without arts events, whose location and demographic render traditional town and city venues inaccessible. The aims are to improve accessibility to live music for rural residents of all ages and to enhance community spirit via the introduction of live music events in a venue central to village life. Each concert consists of an hour of live music, with spoken introductions, followed by tea and cake and the chance to chat to each other and the performers, look at the instruments etc. Baroque & Beyond events are held in daylight hours at the weekend and venues are accessible. The events are designed to be suitable for all ages, and we always make sure there is an area where children can draw or dance. The response to our Baroque & Beyond events has exceeded our expectations, showing them to be hugely popular and meaningful to the communities in which they take place. From our feedback sheets we have learnt that our perceived need for community events such as these, post-Covid, is real. Many of our audience members used to travel to live music events but have lost the confidence to do so. Others – some of whom have never been to a live music event before – welcome the opportunity to offset their own isolation by attending a community event. Sometimes the inclusion of a particular instrument in the programme provides an incentive for someone to 'leave the house', as a carer and enthusiastic amateur recorder player at our last concert told us. We often receive requests from communities to run a Baroque & Beyond event in their village, most recently from Whalley, Lancashire. Baroque & Beyond began in Derbyshire, and its success led us to extend it to Lancashire. In 2026 we are planning to run two pilot events in North Yorkshire with a view to expanding the project. A small charity, we are volunteer-run, and are lucky not to have many overheads so all our funding goes directly into each project.