Growing your group and audiences

Care homes are not often seen as places for performing music, and you’d be forgiven if you hadn’t considered doing so before.

However, according to a 2015 Treasurers survey, a number of Making Music member groups already have a relationship with their local care home.

Why perform in a care home?

It can be hugely beneficial for everyone involved: the care home, its residents and your group:

Lots of our member groups perform in care homes across the country, taking their music to people who might not otherwise have a chance to attend a live performance. In many care homes there are people with dementia, and some homes specialise in care for people with this illness.

'Formal' concerts are often the central driver of groups' seasons and activities, but in some cases they can be a financial burden as well. In this guidance we explore some alternatives that might allow you to retain the benefits while reducing the financial risks and pressure. 

Sharon Moloney of member group Opal Flutes explains how teaming up with another group gave them an opportunity to experience repertoire that would otherwise be off-limits.

A Facebook Page is a great way to attract new audiences and potential members to your music group.  At the time of writing, there are around 702,000 Facebook users in the UK that express an interest in choirs; 506,000 that like orchestras and a staggering 27,818,000 that like music. These are all potential audiences that you can reach if you know how to target them.

Our research into engaging under 35 year olds in music groups pointed to a need for better outreach and publicity. Young people might not be specifically looking for a group to join, or might not be aware of groups in their area. So instead of waiting for them to find you, go to where they are! But where might they be? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Go to local businesses and offices

Most offices will have a fair number of under 35s amongst their staff. Try the following:

At the risk of making you click away from this page in horror, we do need to start by citing that old cliché about a picture being worth a thousand words! No amount of cheerful prose will convince visitors to your group’s website that you are a joyful and inspiring group if they are confronted with a gloomy portrait.

In this guidance, reprinted from the Spring 2017 issue of Highnotes, Jen Farrant looks at how you can make sure your group is open to people with physical disabilities.

Many of our member groups are ‘mixed ability’, which means that people of any standard can join in – from complete beginners to advanced musicians. The challenge for these groups is how they keep things interesting enough for more advanced players, but at the same time don’t leave beginners feeling all at sea.

A good press release should be able to condense all the important information into one page of A4 in size 11 font. We've put together this template to help you get started alongside our top tips guidance.

Download the template