Last month I attended the Musical Connections 10th Anniversary event at the Centre for Early Music.
Hosted by Fiona Chapman (Founder & CEO) and Val Sutton (Chair), the event brought together musicians of all ages and abilities to entertain a 100 strong crowd, and I was fortunate to be amongst them.
Musical Connections empowers people to lead happier, healthier lives through participating in music. They pride themselves on challenging age-related stereotypes, and not making assumptions about the types of music and activities that participants will enjoy and be able to access. This really shone through on the night, with Fulford School choir opening the event…
The Musical Connections Community Choirs then took it in turns to wow us with their harmonies and humour.
Taking us to the interval was Rose (left, below) who sang Beattie’s favourite song ‘You Raise Me Up’. There was hardly a dry eye in the audience as Beattie sang along to every word with a huge and infectious smile on her face. This was a lovely reminder of the power of music, and the ability of music to intrinsically connect different generations.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when Joseph Rowntree Foundation kindly invited me, but I left inspired by the power of music to connect all of these different people.
You can find out more and support the work of Musical Connections here
