Sam's Café

Our East team is in the consultation stage of developing a programme of co-creation and performance with vulnerable adults in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

We are looking to work with organisations that support people who may be homeless, vulnerable, socially isolated, or in recovery from addiction.

Our confirmed community partners are Sam’s Wellbeing Hub and Café (run by Access Community Trust and Status Creative CIC), and Sober Spaces, who host an Open Mic series for people in recovery from addiction. Our orchestral partner will be Academy of St Martins in the Fields who specialise in working with people in similar situations, and are developing an ongoing relationship with First Light Festival, Lowestoft.

Following a positive, profound, and fruitful taster day earlier in 2025, we facilitated consultation discussions at Sam’s Café. Alongside this, a number of performers from the community played fun and emotive songs, with electric and acoustic guitar. The trio from Academy of St Martins in the Fields returned and enchanted those gathered with a range of orchestral pieces, as well as some Christmas favourites. The most memorable element was when two people performed poems they had written, with the orchestral trio playing music that matched in mood and energy – wonderful synergy!

Sophie Rosa in Bolsover District

On 21st and 22nd January, we returned to Bolsover District to deliver a short tour of mini relaxed and interactive concerts with violinist Sophie Rosa, in collaboration with Sinfonia Viva.

The activity took place across two community centres – Glapwell Centre and New Houghton Community Hub, and two primary schools – Duckmanton and Bramley Vale.

The project was built as a continuation of our previous engagement with locals in the area, and grew directly out of the enthusiasm, feedback, and appetite for high-quality orchestral music previously expressed by local partners and communities. This iteration, however, focused on exploring a new form of music engagement.

The project was developed through a co-produced, grassroots approach, and was shaped by creative consultation with the communities and community champions. Rather than delivering a fixed programme, this process allowed us to design a flexible format, allowing Sophie’s repertoire to evolve in response to live interaction with participants.

While the core musical repertoire remained consistent, the form and pacing of each session shifted organically by responding to the audience, the space, and their needs.

The mini tour was very well received, and what stood out most was Sophie’s versatility in adapting the repertoire to very different audiences. Her responsiveness and openness enabled accessible engagement across generations, reinforcing the value of small-scale, community-focused interventions as an alternative to traditional concert formats in the area.

In the schools, the co-production model was particularly evident at Bramley Vale Primary, where pupils responded live to Sophie’s repertoire by sharing short musical pieces they had developed in advance. Supported by their music teachers, around 120 pupils engaged in a joyful exchange with Sophie Rosa that combined performance, mentoring, and Q&A - demonstrating a strong curiosity about what it means to be a professional musician.

At Duckmanton Primary School, pupils were especially curious about how the violin works and about career pathways in music, engaging enthusiastically with questions inspired by the sound and techniques used with the instrument.

In the community centres, adult audiences reflected on how the music evoked memories from their childhoods and highlighted the role orchestral music can play in contributing to wellbeing and social connection later in life.

In both contexts, having a professional musician performing in close proximity helped reduce the distance between artist and audience, making the experience more personal, inclusive and human. It is vital that we place a high value on the role community groups play in the lives of the professional musicians who work with them. Too often, the relationship is framed as one-sided: musicians give their time and talent, and communities receive cultural enrichment. This project clearly shows that the relationship is reciprocal.

The project acted as an introduction to a wider musical journey, culminating in a Concert Coach delivered in partnership with Nottingham Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall, stopping in Duckmanton, Bramley Vale, Glapwell and New Houghton, which will enable local residents to attend an Argentinian tango–inspired concert by Sinfonia Viva at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, on 22nd February 2026.