THIRTY volunteer musicians will serenade care home residents in Ilkley on international Make Music Day.
Make Music Day is an annual day of music making which is taking place in 125 countries on June 21. It’s a free world wide festival to celebrate music in all its forms and to promote music to new audiences.
The Ilkley Silver Serenade will see seven small ensembles with over 30 musicians entertaining residents of 12 care homes and specialist housing facilities for the elderly outdoors during the afternoon of Make Music Day UK.
There will be a real variety of music on offer: the Bring Me Sunshine string trio; the Ain’t Misbehavin’ saxophone group; the Two Rivers woodwind group; the Phoenix Four trad jazz quartet complete with sousaphone; the TBD jazz trio; the Phoenix Singers – all members of the Cantores Olicanae choir ; and the SPA sax – trombone duo.
Participating venues are: Abbeydale Nursing Home; Abbeyfield Grove House, Ilkley; Abbeyfield The Beeches, Menston; Audley Clevedon Retirement Village; Burley Hall Nursing Home; Chesterton Court; Glen Rosa Nursing Home and the Kitwood Unit; Leconfield House; The Gables Nursing Home, Silsden; Troutbeck Nursing Home; and Valley Lodge.
Last year a collection of local volunteer musicians both amateur and professional got together as Musicians Coronavirus Action Ilkley. They organised over 100 outdoor performances for care home residents and staff ,when permitted by the weather and lockdown regulations, including a similar event to celebrate Make Music Day 2020.
Les Goldman, chairman of local Two Rivers Bands helped organise the musicians rota, and has coordinated this year’s Silver Serenade. He said: “Many older people and care home residents and staff have been really isolated during the pandemic. This Make Music Day event will be a great way to put a smile on people’s faces and bring them some much needed live music.”
Enthusiastic responses to the event include: “Our residents would love to see your musicians playing for us again in the garden”, Abbeydale Nursing Home, Ilkley.
“What a brilliant idea”, Valley Lodge, Ilkley.
“This event sounds fantastic”, The Gables Nursing Home, Silsden
Keely Hodgson of the Bring Me Sunshine Trio added: “Last year, Musicians Coronavirus Action Ilkley brought a ray of sunshine to what was a very bleak time for care home residents. The opportunity to share our music with residents brought us hope and joy too. We are delighted to be able to entertain residents once again to mark Making Music Day UK.”
Find out more at https://makemusicday.co.uk/event/ilkley-care-home-serenade/
Some of the afternoon’s performances will be live streamed on Facebook. Look for the hashtags #MakeMusicDayUK and #IlkleySilverSerenade
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