This October, Manchester Camerata ventures out of the concert hall and into the streets with Here We Are, an inclusive and all-embracing five-day celebration of music across Greater Manchester.<\/p>\n
Running from Wed 1 \u2013 Sun 5 Oct, the internationally acclaimed ensemble will stage a wide variety of free pop-up performances in unexpected places, from a unique show at Salford\u2019s Graystone Skate Park to a musical storytelling session at Bolton Library and more, reinforcing its commitment to expand cultural access to local communities, transform lives through the power of music and redefining the role of an orchestra in the 21st century.<\/p>\n
The festival coincides with the launch of ten new Dementia Music Caf\u00e9s across the region, part of Camerata\u2019s pioneering Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia. Using the orchestra\u2019s award-winning Music in Mind approach, these caf\u00e9s will support people living with dementia and their carers, fostering connection and creativity through music-making with no experience required.<\/p>\n
In addition to the free events programme, there will be two unmissable ticketed headline performances: a full-orchestra performance led by Music Director G\u00e1bor Tak\u00e1cs-Nagy at The Monastery in Gorton on Fri 3 Oct<\/a>, and a collaboration with Manchester duo Space Afrika at Aviva Studios on Sun 5 Oct<\/a>, featuring the UK premiere of their short film Opera Omnia.<\/p>\n Alongside the pop-ups and concerts, Manchester Camerata invites audiences to share their thoughts on what a modern orchestra should look like, with a region-wide consultation running throughout the festival.<\/p>\n Bob Riley, Chief Executive of Manchester Camerata, comments: \u201cHere We Are is an invitation to Greater Manchester, to join us in celebrating the people and places of our amazing city region. We\u2019ll also be asking you \u2013 our audiences, communities, artists and partners, to help us future gaze, to tell us what part music plays in your lives, what you want in the future, and to have fun. Come and join us.\u201d<\/p>\n Danny Bradley of Graystone Action Sports Skatepark in Salford said: \u201cAt Graystone we believe that Action Sports are for everybody, so we\u2019re utterly thrilled to be partnering with Manchester Camerata, who reflect this open-minded ethos in their own work. Who knows, hopefully together we can inspire the next generation of both skateboarders and orchestral players \u2013 maybe even get some people who are great at doing both!\u201d<\/p>\n