How Viva has been hitting the right notes for 40 years

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate magazine, we meet Lucy Galliard, the chief executive of Sinfonia Viva – the Derby-based orchestra and music education charity, which this year has been celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Lucy took up the post in January, joining from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where she led the teams responsible for it three symphonic choruses, youth orchestra and its education and outreach programmes.

She speaks to Innovate about her year in post so far and her impressions of Derby, a city she was unfamiliar with until now.

She said: “My colleagues across the cultural sector have been incredibly supportive and I have been really impressed by the amount and quality of cultural activity that is going on.

“I should not have been surprised but perhaps the city has not always had the recognition that it deserves. I worked in Birmingham but had no real idea what was happening just down the road.

“It’s a really vibrant place and there are some interesting conversations going on about how culture can play an even greater role in the city moving forward. Hopefully we can contribute to that.”

Sinfonia Viva – or Viva as it is affectionately known – was originally formed as the East of England Orchestra in 1982.

It remains the East Midlands’ only professional orchestra, with its 38 musicians working across six counties and beyond.

The organisation has developed a national reach, providing concerts and creative community projects through live performance, workshops and digital delivery.

The orchestra works with a broad range of groups, including children and young people, special schools, people living with dementia, refugees and asylum seekers, carers and those in areas of deprivation or rural isolation.

It aims to make a difference through music, to celebrate the talents and creativity of those it works with, and to share live orchestral music with the widest possible audience.

The orchestra’s work reaches more than 25,000 people every year, including hugely popular events like the open-air Darley Park Concert.

Lucy told Innovate: “In this, our 40th anniversary year, I am proud to have joined a much-loved and diverse orchestra that is committed to making high-quality music accessible to all, whether that is in schools, local communities or concert halls across the region and beyond.”

To read the full feature in the latest Innovate magazine click here