Communications
To have the biggest impact, and to change the most lives, Manchester Camerata must tell its story to the world. We believe music is for everyone. That means we need to connect not just with existing audiences, but also take our message wider to reach those beyond traditional classical music fans.
In 2022, we successfully achieved this, with stories that cut across to a mainstream audience. This not only builds the profile and reputation of Manchester Camerata itself but also helps to provoke and lead a wider debate about the positive power that music has to change lives.
Earlier in the year, a BBC One documentary charted the experiences of people affected by dementia who are supported by our Music in Mind programme. This highlighted the way that our community work is connecting with groups beyond the concert hall and having a measurable impact on their lives.
Dementia was also the theme of our short film ‘Untold – Keith’, which this year was the winner in the Storytelling category at the prestigious annual Royal Philharmonic Society Awards.
This, the second short film in our Untold series, tells the story of Keith, who lives with young-onset dementia. It provides a very personal account of how dementia affects the everyday lives of him and his wife Joan, and how music provides light in difficult times.
In print media too, the Manchester Camerata story was heard, with The Times turning the spotlight on Music Director Gábor Takács-Nagy. The interview covers Gábor’s career as well as his transition from playing the violin to conducting.
Each of these stories is very different. However, the common thread is that they all provide tangible examples of the way that music can enhance and elevate lives.
Looking Forward
As we move into next year, Manchester Camerata will continue to find new ways to shape and share the stories of what we do and the people that we do it for. With a clear and comprehensive communications strategy in place that has digital connection at its heart and expanding our team to build our capacity in digital storytelling, we will continue to inform, challenge, and provoke debate.
We will uncover and share stories that are not always heard and use our platform to lead the sector in challenging preconceptions of what an orchestra can do and the difference that world-class music can make in people’s lives.