Welcome to the website of The Marches Songbook! We are a nonprofit organisation bringing together composers, poets, and the wider community in the borderland counties of Wales and England. Dedicated to commissioning and facilitating professional performance of new works, we aim to present a varied calendar of events showcasing the musical and literary culture of the region.
The Marches Songbook provides a platform for creative collaboration between poets and composers to produce new works of words and music. The Marches region has a rich heritage of poetry and song, which we aim both to uphold and update. We encourage the artists we work with to explore connections with the places and communities of the borderlands. As the project develops, we hope also to provide opportunities for the public to engage in the creative process. This might include suggesting themes, stories or aspects of local history that could work as the basis for new songs.
Public performance of words and music is central to the activity of The Marches Songbook. We seek to enhance the traditional concert format by structuring each event around a narrative theme relevant to the local community. We also aim to programme events in a broad range of venues, so as reach a diverse audience and maximise the accessibility of the project's output. Through fundraising for artists' fees, we give local professional performers a platform to display their talents on their home turf; in most cases, the speakers and musicians we hire will have a close connection to the Marches region.
Educational outreach is an important part of our community engagement, and we believe in maximising the opportunities of young people to get involved in music and literature in a creative way. Ideas we are currently working on in this area include school visits, writing competitions, and sponsorship of classes at performing arts festivals. We are keen to hear from teachers and community youth workers in the Marches area who might be interested in working with our organisation.
