Orchestras Live celebrates 50th Anniversary

Orchestras Live is 50 this year. Well, strictly, the organisation is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of one of its former incarnations, The Eastern Authorities Orchestral Association. This membership organisation for local authorities in the East and East Midlands created in 1965, addressed the inequality of orchestral provision in those regions. The organisation has since then expanded so that it is now a national organisation with the mission to inspire, motivate and empower the widest range of people through excellent live orchestral music. Last year they delivered 132 concerts/residencies and 500 workshop, working with 25 professional orchestras and 60 local partners, reaching almost 54,000 people across 7 English regions.

The organisation is celebrating with a range of concerts and events, bringing live orchestral music to areas where it is difficult to access. Forthcoming events include the Academy of Ancient Music with trumpeter David Blackadder at The Apex, Bury St Edmunds on 22 February and oboist Nicholas Daniels and the Britten Sinfonia in Keswick on 25 February, and the Manchester Camerata in Barrow in Furness on 5 March.  You can see the full range of events they support on the concerts page of their website.

Besides supporting orchestral performances and workshops, they also have a Health and Wellbeing programme which includes working with partners like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Zinc Arts on a mentoring programme to find and develop charismatic disabled music leaders in Essex. And in Mansfield they are working with partners including the BBC Concert Orchestra on Able Orchestra. This is an ensemble using digital equipment to enable those with even the most profound disabilities to contribute equally, culminating in a concert at the Palace Theatre on 19 February.