We are once again teaming up with our good friends at Cloudwater Brewery to brew our annual ‘Support Your Local Orchestra’ beer & celebrate the launch of our new Season!

“Support Your Local Orchestra” will be available in roughly 200 bars/pubs and shops nationwide, bringing focus to the great work that orchestras do both on and off the stage.

Click here to buy this years beer >

We’re looking for open-minded musicians to join us, forming a team of collaborating creatives to become the next cohort of our ABO award-winning Camerata 360° Ruth Sutton Fellows.

This year, the Fellowship has expanded to include Wind, Brass, and String players under 30 who have completed a music degree or equivalent qualification.

If you’re eager to explore the role music plays in society and want to build a lasting relationship with Manchester Camerata as both a musician and practitioner, then please apply!

Proudly supported by the Ruth Sutton Trust for Music.
📅 Deadline: 15 June at 23:59

This fellowship is open to people who will be based in Greater Manchester and the surrounding counties for the duration of the fellowship year.

Apply Now >>

With the help of our Mayor Andy Burnham, we’re asking you to get involved in this Dementia Action Week!

There are currently around 982,000 people living with dementia in the UK, costing £36.7 billion in care, with these figures are expected to rise. We believe everyone deserves access to free, life-changing care and support.

As part of hosting the Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia, we are hosting free Music Cafés right across the whole of Greater Manchester.

This Dementia Action Week, we’re looking for more people to get involved in our Music in Mind programme and become Music Champions – learning how to use Music to support people living with dementia and their carers.

If you can spare 2-3 hours a week, or know someone living with dementia who would benefit from this free life-changing programme, visit our Music in Mind website by clicking the link below.

Get involved, visit Music In Mind >>

Get involved, visit Music In Mind >>

In aid of our musicians and staff running the Manchester 10k we’ve made a limited edition Just Play It.^TM T-shirt.

We’re known for our cross-genre collaborations here at Manchester Camerata, and this T-shirt takes <eh-hem> influence from a well-known sports brand on the front, with a list of some of the composers we have played on the back.

We have a few of these to give away. Any donation over £20 will be entered into a raffle to win one of these T-shirts.

Do something amazing and support the incredible impact our musicians make both on and off the stage by donating here today.

Make a donation >

Last Night, the Association of British Orchestras gave us an award for the Camerata 360° Ruth Sutton Fellowship.

Here is what the ABO had to say: “Specifically designed for musicians based in the North, the fellowship aims to equip future musicians with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to launch their careers and thrive. The Fellowship gives musicians experience in all aspects of our work and the impact it makes – from Camerata’s award-winning dementia work to their boundary-pushing performances. In today’s climate, framed by the cost-of-living crisis and pressures on government budgets, a career in music might seem like a daunting or uncertain path. The recipients of this ABO Annual Award have worked to mitigate these uncertainties and keep the talent pipeline flowing and open to everyone.” 

 A huge thank you to The Ruth Sutton Trust for Music for their incredible support for this project. We simply couldn’t have done this without you.

To find out more about the Camerata 360° Ruth Sutton Fellowship click here.

To support more of the impact projects like this make, consider making a donation by clicking here.

Huge thanks to Ivan Hewett from The Telegraph for covering our life-changing music and dementia work and the impact it makes.

Ivan came to visit our music cafe in our home of The Monastery in Gorton late last year and saw first-hand the impact our Music in Mind sessions have on people living with dementia and their carers.

“I saw a similarly astonishing transformation in Jim, who tried so hard to tell me about his beloved brother Danny, but couldn’t manage it; his partner completed his half-formed sentences for him. Noticing this, the keyboardist started playing Danny Boy, and Jim joined in, singing faultlessly. At the end of the song, he let out a ringing climactic top note that made everybody turn in astonishment.” Ivan Hewett

A carer who attends our sessions with their partner remarked:“These wonderful people should be paid in gold,” Whilst not in gold, but we must continue to support and pay our musicians as the perform, develop, make impact in our communities. If you are able to support our work please consider making a donation by clicking here.

Click here to read Ivan's Article >

Click here to find out more about our Music in Mind work >

Manchester Camerata appoints Nic Hailey as Chair of its Board

Today [21 Jan] we have announced the appointment of Nic Hailey as the new Chair of our board. Nic is the Executive Director of International Alert – a charity that helps people affected by conflict. Prior to that, he spent 24 years in the UK Diplomatic Service, most recently as Director-General, Transformation, at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He has used his senior positions and vast experience to campaign for international peace.

Nic currently chairs the Board of Trustees of the Waldorf Learning Foundation, a charity that supports teacher training and school provision. He brings a wealth of expertise, knowledge and passion to our pioneering orchestra as we continue to pursue our vision as a charity, transforming lives through exceptional music.

Bob Riley, Chief Executive of Manchester Camerata, said:

“Thanks to the guidance and hard work of our outgoing chair Stephen Dauncey, the board, and the whole team at Camerata, our organisation is in a fantastic position. However, with an everchanging cultural landscape and societal pressures, there are great challenges for our sector ahead. This is an incredibly exciting time for us here and we cannot wait to get started with our new chair, Nic, who brings a breadth of experience and knowledge to the team with a palpable passion for our vision to transform everyone’s lives through exceptional music.”

Nic Hailey, Chair of the Board, said:

“I have always been passionate about the transformative and connecting nature of music -music for change – and that is what Manchester Camerata’s work is all about. I look forward to working with everyone at Camerata to champion and support that vital mission in the years ahead.“

Steve Dauncey, Manchester Camerata’s outgoing chair said:

“I am so proud of all that has been achieved by everyone during my tenure as Chair at Manchester Camerata. To see the organisation making such great impact on the communities we serve (both on and off the stage) is an honour. I have enjoyed my time immensely, it has been incredibly fun, and I look forward to watching further growth under Nic’s stewardship.”

We are so excited to have Nic joining us and can’t wait to get going with him.

Manchester Camerata worked with the executive search firm, GatenbySanderson, for the recruitment of this role.

Click here to see our current Board of Trustees >

At the start of this year, we kicked things off with another Inspiration Day for our Music in Mind Family.

Our new cohort of Music Champions met with Pioneer Music Champions as well as our incredible Camerata musicians for a day of all things Music in Mind.

Bringing people together provided an opportunity to meet with other Music Champions and share stories of best practice, as well as learn new skills and share new ideas.

The Music Champions discussed what makes a good session as well as learning about all the fantastic resources our Music in Mind website has for them.

We had a great turnout with Music Champions attending from all 10 of Greater Manchester boroughs, spreading the impact that Music in Mind makes for people living with dementia and their carers across the whole of Greater Manchester.

To find out more about our Music in Mind work or to get involved, click here.

Visit our Music in Mind website >

Following our successful bid earlier this year to launch the UK’s First Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia – we are bringing our ground-breaking Music in Mind programme for people living with dementia to all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs from Monday 15^th October.

Music Cafés for people living with dementia and their carers will run weekly in community centres, church halls and dementia support groups in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan & Leigh. Each Music Café provides in the moment’ person-centered care for people living with dementia based upon our award winning Music in Mind techniques.

Click here to find a Music Café near you >

At each Music Café participants – ie those living with dementia and their carers – are invited to take part in music making using a wide range of percussive instruments (no previous musical experience needed). The sessions create a meaningful conversation without words.

As part of this Centre of Excellence café initiative across Greater Manchester – we will also train over 300 members of the public (to be called Music Champions) in our Music in Mind techniques – eventually enabling them to run their own Music Cafés. To help recruit these Music Champions and set up Music Cafés, we are working with local partners in each borough, including Age UK, Mind, Together Dementia Support, HMR Circle and Bolton Dementia Support. The training of Music Champions to run these sessions will directly support over 1000 people living with dementia in Greater Manchester over the next three years.