Musicians South West, led by Jackie Bevan, put in a successful application to the Radstock & Westfield Big Local Big Fund. Our management supported the initiative to bring a new and innovative event to the area that provided a learning experience to local residents.
Jackie reports on how the event went:
Please give us a statement of how it has helped/improved/impacted on our local community:
It was the first ever opera to take place in Radstock, and we achieved an audience of nearly 90, of which from our audience list, over two-thirds were local people from BA3 and immediate surrounds. The attendance by the public at the singers’ workshop was disappointing, although the half a dozen singers who took part found it extremely useful and of a very high standard.
Please tell us a bit about why you chose to help Radstock and Westfield? (Why did you set up the project, why do you care about the area, etc.?):
I live in Westfield, about 10 yards from Radstock, this area is our home and the collective aim of Musicians South West is to bring more live music and multi-arts events to the area as well as support and promote existing projects. Radstock & Westfield have the lowest percentage of take-up for arts events in B&NES, and myself and all at Musicians South West will continue to build audiences in this area by putting on free and low-cost events. We have developed an excellent working relationship with other local promoters and arts organisations, including DNA Arts, Natural Theatre Company, Evolve Music and Creativity Works, as well as bringing the highest quality performers, based all over the South West, to perform in our events.
