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ROUND ELEVEN GRANT APPLICATIONS
Baroque In The North
ENSEMBLE INFO
Ensemble Contact:
Amanda Babington
Email:
Ensemble Connect URL
Year of formation:
2008
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 a recent concert told us. We often receive requests from communities to run a Baroque & Beyond event in their village, most recently from Pendleton, Lancashire. A small charity, we are volunteer-run, and are lucky not to have many overheads so all our funding goes directly into each project. We have secured funding for 5 events in 2026 but we would like to add a 6th event which would enable us to cover more of our growing list of Baroque & Beyond locations. Thanks to the success of the project, this list now covers Derbyshire, Lancashire and North Yorkshire. A 6th event would also act as a launch event for our second album, following its release in summer 2026. In this capacity, we would like to expand our usual Baroque & Beyond ensemble of three to include the other two musicians on the album.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
PROJECT COSTS
Number of performers:
Instrumentalists:
Vocalists:
Other:
5
Project Income (£):
Ticketing/Fees:
Public Funding:
Other trusts/foundations - confirmed
Other trusts/foundations - pending
Other
Income - Total sources
250
250
Project Expenses (£):
Artists' fees
Artists' travel/accommodation
Venue - Rehearsal/Concert:
Recording/Filming:
Marketing/Publicity:
Management/Contingency:
1800
714
150
30
Total Project Costs:
2694
Amount (£) of Grant Requested:
2444
Detailed Budget (Download):
IMPACT OF GRANT
A grant from Continuo Foundation would help us celebrate two of our fundamental goals – making live music accessible and promoting the musette and its music. Baroque & Beyond has grown so successfully that we need 6 events per annum rather than 5 to cover enough of the locations on our list in rotation. It would also mark the release of our second musette album (generously funded by CF). This album illustrates our commitment to the musette but also to the sharing of music by any means available.
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