Fundraising campaign for dementia-friendly performances

Sinfonia Viva is running a fundraising campaign to ensure more people with dementia and their families can enjoy classical music in a relaxed setting.

The orchestra has been selected to be a beneficiary as part of the Big Give Christmas Challenge, a match funding initiative, which is running online until 10 December.

Sinfonia Viva has set itself a £5,000 target for individual donations, which will be doubled through the Big Give match funding.

The money raised will fund a further series of ‘Melodic Moments’. The dementia-friendly concert series is currently being held at Derby Museums’ Museum of Making every other month until June 2025.

The relaxed one-hour afternoon concerts feature a small group of Sinfonia Viva musicians and a programme of accessible music chosen to particularly resonate with people living with dementia who can enjoy the experience alongside their family and carers.

The Italian Mill at Museum of Making has been chosen as the venue for all the concerts as it is an informal space where the audience can move about freely, respond to the music in their own way, or just sit back and enjoy the experience.

Tea and cake are provided after the concert and audience members are welcome explore the museum before or after each performance.

Sinfonia Viva’s chief executive Lucy Galliard said: “The feedback from the first performances in our ‘Melodic Moments’ series has been amazing.

“Our talented and experienced musicians have been particularly praised for performing with the audience rather than just for them – making sure that everyone has an enjoyable and inclusive experience.

“Our aim through these unique concerts is to reduce loneliness and isolation of people living with dementia and support their mental well-being and that of their carers through regular group music making and performance.

“As well as improving access to inclusive music activities and performances and enabling people living with dementia and their carers to have a joyful and positive shared experience, we hope to establish a sustainable informal support network for all concerned.

“We are grateful to everyone who supported our previous Big Give fundraising campaign earlier this year and we hope now to be able to expand this programme further afield in the East Midlands in the future.”

For more information about the Big Give campaign, visit https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002TPXD8AAP?c=77389.