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In this very challenging time for all, and especially those working in the arts, it is amazing the level of cooperation and generosity from artists, and one fine example of artists giving back to the community has been seen throughout the summer, and is continuing in September from the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival.
The festival organisers have been awarded national funding by Creative Ireland to deliver a programme of Covid Care Concerts in residential care homes across Waterford. Following a successful first series of concerts in June 2020, Blackwater Valley Opera Festival and Mobile Music Machine returned to 10 care home settings in Waterford, Lismore, Cappoquin and Dungarvan this week. This is a new project designed to bring classical music into the lives of the most vulnerable members of society and those most affected by the pandemic.
Before this week’s events the Covid Care Concerts had already reached over 1,000 care home residents and staff in Waterford. Funding support from Creative Ireland Waterford will bring the concerts back to these settings for another week in September.
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival is partnering with the renowned classical music ensemble Mobile Music Machine to deliver these one-hour recitals at an appropriate social distance in the grounds of care homes. Residents and staff gather in outdoor areas or listen to the performance through open windows and doors and feedback from the concerts has been overwhelming.
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival director Eamonn Carroll said this week: “If there is one positive thing to emerge from the pandemic, it has shone a light on the desperate need to engage on a more regular basis with the most isolated members of society. Through our repeated concert visits, we hope to build long-lasting friendships with the residents of care homes throughout the county. Many residents told us they were amazed that such high calibre musicians came to visit their home in Waterford, and we hope to make this a new normal. We are indebted to Creative Ireland and Waterford local authority for supporting us in the development of this initiative”
The Mobile Music Machine is a leading national music education company, founded by acclaimed Irish cellist Gerald Peregrine. He said: “One woman’s experience best sums up the project. Aged 92, she had been in bed for three weeks prior to our concert visit in June. Her carers persuaded her to get dressed and come outside. She had been a keen music lover her entire life and told us that she never expected to relive that part of her life again. The change in her mood was transformative and she said she can't wait for the next concert!”
The Creative Ireland Programme is culture-based and designed to promote individual, community and national well-being. Co-ordinator Katherine Collins explained: “The remit of Creative Waterford is to support creativity in communities, and what better way to do this than to provide music and joy to our older communities during difficult times. Creative Waterford is delighted to be working with world class musicians to bring high quality cultural activity to residents in care settings”.
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, the country’s only summer opera festival, is a celebration of opera and classical music set in the heart of Ireland’s Ancient East. While it lost out this year on staging a rich programme at venues such as Lismore Castle and great houses in the region, it is looking forward to the 2021 festival which will take place in the first week of June and feature an opera double bill Gianni Schicchi and Pagliacci. Maybe it’s time to book your 2021 staycation in the beautiful Blackwater Valley.
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