Three-month programme includes activities for children, young people, people living with dementia, hospital patients, and those at risk of mental health difficulties, among others
Children, young people, families, people living with dementia, hospital patients, and people at risk of mental health difficulties are among those at the centre of the National Concert Hall (NCH)’s Learning and Participation (L&P) winter programme, details of which were announced by the NCH today (30.11.23).
The L&P winter programme runs for three months, from December 2023 to February 2024. It offers people of all ages an opportunity to experience, enjoy and learn about music and features almost 300 individual events and activities. These include:
- A series of three dementia-friendly ‘tea dances’ for people living with dementia, their carers and families. Taking place at the NCH once per month, vocalist Liz Ryan and special guests will perform popular ballads, seasonal songs and light opera, and encourage audiences to join in, sing along and dance.
- A series of ‘Bring Along a Baby’ chamber music recitals in association with Classical Kids, aimed primarily at parents, while babies or very young children sleep, feed and play.
- Weekly ‘Mini Music’ music classes for children aged from three months to eight years. The next term commences in January 2024 and runs for ten weeks.
- The ‘Music in Mind’ youth programme of participative singing or percussion workshops for young people at risk of mental health adversities. Funded by Creative Ireland and run in youth centres and education hubs across Ireland in partnership with the National Youth Council of Ireland, Peter McVerry Trust, Irish Refugee Council and the Irish Kidney Association, each programme comprises one 90-minute session per week over an eight-week period.
- A series of performances (classical duet and jazz duo) in three cancer treatment centres in Dublin: St Luke’s Hospital, James’ Hospital, and Beaumont Hospital.
- Informal concerts in 12 Alzheimer’s day and respite care centres across Ireland. As part of the ‘Health & Harmony’ programme, two musicians will perform for one hour twice per month in each centre, encouraging attendees to sing along and participate.
Commenting on the programme, Acting Head of Performance and Learning at the NCH, Nigel Flegg said: “We are excited to announce details of our Learning and Participation winter programme today. Music has the fantastic ability to bring us joy and comfort, to animate us or to help us relax, and we have designed our new programme to reach people of all ages and a variety of audiences.
“Promoting access, appreciation and enjoyment of music is at the heart of all this, and we encourage people of all abilities – newcomers, young musicians at the start of their careers, and anyone who wishes to engage with music – to explore our offering.”
For further information, visit nch.ie/learn-participate
