Over the past year, Live Music Now has been actively delivering support across Yorkshire — from schools and education settings to care homes and community health services.
Interactive Performances In Schools
Between April 2025 and March 2026 our musicians gave 43 interactive performances in schools throughout Yorkshire, reaching around 1000 children. These included performances in mainstream primary schools as part of Harrogate International Festival; a series of performances in East Riding special schools; and visits to a number of other special schools in North and West Yorkshire. Musicians involved included Boubakiki (a saxophone and handpan duo), Mishra (a global folk ensemble) and Duetto Florens (soprano and piano).
Feedback from teachers was consistently positive, and we were particularly delighted with this message from St Anne’s School & Sixth Form College, visited by Duetto Florens:
“The session provided a truly magical, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our pupils. They were fully engaged and mesmerised throughout, sharing in a collective experience that brought everyone together through music… For many it was a rare moment of connection and joy – an experience that supported not only their social interaction but also their confidence and sense of achievement.”
Special School Residency Projects
In June 2025 two of our newer musicians spent three days working alongside an experienced music leader at Heatherwood School in Doncaster, as part of their training to develop their skills working with children with special educational needs. The musicians highlighted practical learning:
“My communication has definitely evolved: I learned how to create multisensory experiences and adapt my playing to participants’ responses.”
Teachers reinforced these observations:
“They were friendly, engaging and adapted their language, tone and physical gestures to suit the students’ levels and requirements. Thank you for such an engaging and imaginative project that took into consideration our pupils’ barriers to learning.”
This type of work is particularly important to us in developing a skilled musical workforce able to deliver more projects in special schools in Yorkshire.
In partnership with AMP, Live Music Now musician Simon Robinson led a residency at Brooklands School, Skipton from October 25 – March 26. Simon worked with four primary classes throughout the residency, with weekly music sessions focussed on engagement, enjoyment and social development. Sessions followed the Count Me In! model, with Ash class performing their own version of the song ‘Little Ladybird’ for other classes at the end of the residency.
Our musicians delivered two further 10-week Count Me In! projects, at Talbot and Seven Hills Schools in Sheffield, with a third project (at Greenacre in Barnsley) starting in May 2026. Count Me In! is an inclusive approach to ensemble playing which enables children of all abilities to experience the joy of playing music together. Through the projects, 20 young people have achieved Trinity College Awards and Certificates in Musical Development: some of these young people will have few if any other opportunities to gain nationally recognised qualifications so this represents a wonderful achievement for them.
Music Supporting Adults Facing Isolation, Disability and Dementia
Our Music in Health programme continued to provide musical opportunities for adults with learning disabilities, older adults experiencing isolation, loneliness and their carers. During 2025-26 our musicians gave 19 participatory concerts reaching approximately 700 people.
Our partners on this programme include Ryedale Carers, who we work with to deliver Tea and Tunes performances in Heybridge, Lythe, Whitby and online for their clients who are mostly elderly and their carers. We also work with an older people’s community group located at Brough Methodist Church for events that combine concerts with afternoon tea. Our programme of concerts at Hessle Library are for adults with learning difficulties in partnership with East Riding of Yorkshire Council Adult Social Care. Musicians involved included Duetto Florens (classical voice and piano), Dovetail (folk) and Jambalaya Duo (folk) and Steppin Out (jazz). The concerts gave audiences the opportunity to enjoy high quality live music in a relaxed and social setting.
“One lady was said to rarely engage with activities. After finding out she enjoyed musicians we played Edelweiss. The lady showed strong signs of engagement by holding eye contract with Simon and singing along. She showed signs of positivity by smiling and saying goodbye in a friendly way. The high engagement was sustained for the remaining of the session.” – Jambalaya Duo, Hessle Library Sep 2025
“One man living with dementia stood up and began dancing!” – Jambalaya Duo, Brough Methodist Church Sep 2025
“Quite a few members of the audience came and told me how much they’d enjoyed it. One woman’s carer in particular said that she had never seen her so relaxed during an event. There was also plenty of singing, chatter, clapping along etc.” Nicolas Lewis, Lythe Village Hall.
Over the coming year we’re planning to recruit some new musicians to continue growing our work in Yorkshire and look forward to many more successful projects in the future.
We would like to thank the Charles & Elsie Sykes Trust, Mayfield Valley Arts Trust, Daniell Trust, Hull & East Riding Charitable Trust, AMP, and Ryedale Carers for their help in making this work possible.
