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Welcome to Brighton & Hove’s specialist community music service for adults of all abilities.

We wish to contribute to a society in which everyone can connect through music-making: accessing, playing, and enjoying music together, regardless of economic circumstances, ability or needs, age, social status or previous musical experience. 

We are a Brighton & Hove -based social enterprise which has been running community music projects in the city and beyond since 2013. We offer participatory music as a tool for connection in a variety of community-based settings.

With listening and soundmaking at the core of what we provide, we work with older people, for teambuilding and staff wellbeing, with people living with dementia and their carers, for mental health, and string players of all abilities.

Brighton and Hove Older People’s Music (BHOPM) is the place for the city’s older people to access high quality music-making provision: our online and in person older people’s jam sessions, one-to-one doorstep and phone sessions, and bedside music sessions.

Online and outdoor sessions for 50+

Brighton and Hove Older People’s Music is the place to try out music-making with other people in a lighthearted and safe way. We help people play!

Dementia

We have years of experience in creating inclusive, supportive, and fun NHS-funded dementia-friendly music sessions.

Musical Box Scheme

A free service throughout Brighton and Hove where we meet online or on doorsteps monthly to make music together and chat.

Teambuilding & Staff Wellbeing: Workplace Harmony

Does your team need some TLC? Our creative coffee-break sessions help people feel happier, connected, and engaged – no experience necessary!

Open Strings Music was founded in 2013. This specialist community music organisation was the forerunner of Brighton and Hove Music for Connection, providing music-making for a huge variety of groups and individuals in Brighton & Hove and beyond.

Now part of Music for Connection, Open Strings encompasses our all-abilities’ strings sessions.

Silver Strings

Brighton & Hove ’s very own later-starter community string band, running since early 2013.

Strings Unbarred

We offer a range of sessions for adult string players, including Instramusic and Strings Unbarred.

Strings at Twilight

An on-demand mixed-ability group for any adult who wants to play a cello, violin or viola.

Listening, Sound Forages, and Sound Archives

Join us for our innovative listening and sound sessions, including RiTA (Remix The Archive), our very own live online remixing instrument. No experience needed!

Wellbeing and Connection

Our sessions are proven to improve people’s sense of wellbeing and connection. 85% of people attending our sessions state they feel better for participating!

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Enabling people to connect through music-making, our primary aim is to promote wellbeing and quality of life.

Music sessions for individuals and groups

We offer a range of sessions for wellbeing and connection – these are both online and outdoor.

Training and facilitation

Music is an incredibly powerful tool for engagement – we see this every day in our work: people who can be hard to reach light up and become present with us in the moment when we play and sing together.

In our music sessions, people of all abilities play together, some of whom have never played before or were told at an early age that they couldn’t sing. Experiences such as these can sometimes be a barrier to people playing together at home, even if they enjoy themselves in our music sessions.

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