Hello!
Welcome to the September edition of our Bridgewater For All Playback, where we look back at the highlights of the Learning and Participation programme at The Bridgewater Hall for this month. After a busy maintenance period at the Hall over August, we’ve come back with a bang this September as we welcome in the new musical season.
We hope you enjoy reading what we’ve been up to in September.
The L&P Department
The Bridgewater Hall Singers – Wednesday 4 September
Our community choir, the Bridgewater Hall Singers, returned to the Hall after a Summer break this September. It was great to see so many new faces and welcome them to the 60 strong choir. The choir revisited some firm favourites such as Dirty Old Town and Let It Be. They also began learning a new song, The Rose, made popular by the fabulous Bette Midler. The choir sounded amazing as always, with The Rose seeing a few tears in the building! To find out more about the Bridgewater Hall Singers click here.
Live at Lunchtime – Friday 6 September, 20 September, 27 September
This month we had our final performers take to the Stalls stage for this years Live at Lunchtime series. On 6 September, we were joined by the amazing Ahmed Dickinson. Ahmed is a Cuban classical guitarist who brought the world of Maria Camahort to the Hall in this special performance. A big thank you to the Instituto Cervantes Manchester for presenting this concert as part of Live at Lunchtime. On 20 September, the So Many Beauties Collective took to the main auditorium stage for this stunning celebration of dementia friendly music, made by and for, people living with dementia. The Collective features musicians from across the globe, with the ensemble made up of local support groups as well as professional musicians from the Hallé and Manchester Camerata. Wrapping up the series on 27 September, we had the amazing 5-part saxophone harmonies and loop pedal talents of Dilettante – who knew you could use a book as a drum? A big thank you to everyone who has supported Live at Lunchtime this year, we look forward to welcoming you back to the Hall in May 2025 for the next series!
So Many Beauties Dementia Friendly Music Festival – Friday 20 September
The So Many Beauties Dementia Friendly Music Festival was a full venue take over, and one of the most joyous and uplifting events we had the pleasure to host at the Hall. We had the So Many Beauties Collective take over on the main stage as part of our Live at Lunchtime series, which featured brilliant new music co-created with leading musicians. In the Foyer spaces there were exhibitors from local support groups including Age UK and Together Dementia Support just to name a few. There were also some great activities going on, including flower crown making from RHS Bridgewater and screen printing with Create. As well as a photobooth, there was an immersive theatre performance from Tom Yum Sim called ‘The Salon’ where guests were transported back to the 80s in this sensory musical experience. The live entertainment continued on the Stalls Café stage where we had back-to-back performances ranging from Bhangra dance energisers to gospel choirs! A big thank you to everyone involved in making this very important and special event happen. To find out more about So Many Beauties click here.
