NW Live Arts have announced a new concert, Creative Connections on April 17th at St John’s Waterloo. This marks the culmination of a project bringing together professional musicians and members of the local community to explore the value of creative connections between cultures and communities in seven weekly creative workshops and finally a concert.

The London music charity invited five musicians to co-curate a concert of music in different genres from different cultures. The result is a captivating mix of Basque folk, mediaeval, South American, contemporary, Central European, Indian contemporary and Middle Eastern music, along with jaw-dropping improvisation. The programme is delightfully woven together in a continuous 70-minute performance, sharing stories of what brings us together and acknowledging our shared humanity.

NW Live Arts was started in 2018 by Caroline Heslop in Camden, with the mission of bringing world-class music to communities which have been historically marginalised or underserved. Each concert is intelligently curated around a theme, with a very diverse range of influences – from well-known classical music, new music, folk and music from around the world feeding into the programme. Alongside each concert there is a series of music and storytelling workshops which help local people engage with the theme of the concert, meet and be creative with some of the musicians from the concert, and for those who wish to, perform in the concert.

The benefits to the programme are many. They demonstrate that “ordinary people” can do extraordinary things when they are encouraged and facilitated to engage meaningfully in the arts and are treated as creative equals with the professional musicians and storytellers. Participants have seen huge benefits to their wellbeing and emotional health, through building skills and connecting with others, using music and storytelling as an outlet for processing lived experiences. They learn from high calibre professionals, boosting self belief in their ability.

Music from the concert programme will be used as one of the resources for the workshops co-ordinated by Rhia Parker and facilitated by Aga Serugo Lugo. Participants will work on their stories told in words and music together with Rhia and Aga.

A former participant said: “The process of workshopping the idea and linking coming home to the journey of Odysseus was inspired. You managed to create an environment, that allowed us to form a troop and encouraged us to explore our feelings of coming back from Combat in a safe place. We all immediately, veterans and musicians, became a close and caring band. Art has this ability to allow the scared and troubled mind to shine a light on the darkness of the soul and reaffirm our basic humanity. Over the weeks of rehearsals it was a joy to belong and care for each other. The performance night was a revelation, the warmth of the audience and the standing ovation, for our story, stunned and inspired us.”

Caroline Heslop, founder and Artistic Director of NW Live Arts says: “Since 2018 NW Live Arts has been bringing world-class music to communities and venues across London with the belief that participation in the arts can have an extraordinary impact on our mental health, understanding and empathy. This new series of workshops with participants proving themselves as inspired storytellers and emerging composers is incredibly exciting.