The closing month of 2023 was a particularly busy period for our Community Team. Here’s what they were up to in December.

As the year drew to a close, the festive celebrations truly began for our Later Life participants. Following their performance alongside Group A for the Saxmundham Christmas lights switch on earlier in the month, 40 of our Skylarks participants came together in the Britten Studio. Singing carols and sharing tea and cake, it was an occasion to socialise and reminisce on the year together. We also hosted our annual Tea Dance, for members of our Participate programme, as well as local care homes and the general public. Over 100 guests gathered on the dance floor, accompanied by a live band and a wonderful afternoon tea, much fun was had.

Group A’s Christmas performances didn’t stop at the light’s switch on. Continuing their weekly sessions over the month of December, Group A also joined The Jubilee Opera Chorus and The Suffolk Ensemble, for two festive performances of The Snowman. A brilliant way to kick off the festive break!

For our school engagement programme, we are delighted to have achieved a Sandford Award in Heritage Education. 2023 was our busiest and most successful year to date for The Red House schools’ sessions, as we welcomed over 2,800 pupils from over 40 different schools across the year.

Our Mini Music Makers continued throughout December, as we worked with 80 families to deliver fun and festive music making workshops for children aged 0-5. On 15 December, we welcomed 40 families to Snape Maltings for the Mini Music Makers Christmas Party. Children and adults spent the morning taking part in festive activities, including a visit from Father Christmas. The Christmas Party was a chance for families to get together as part of a large supportive network.

Finally, on 20th December, our Community artists and team returned to HMP Warren Hill to celebrate the successes of the November performance project. This included listening back to the recordings and presenting the participants with CDs of the work they put together. The men found this a wonderful opportunity to feedback on the project, and to reflect on the success and challenges of putting together a performance in just a few days. We will be returning back to HMP Warren Hill in February to begin our next recording project.

To find out more about our community projects, click here.