Leading the way in community engagement, Opera North celebrates ten years of both its Encore and Bravo community schemes this month, having welcomed more than 9,000 attendees to opera and live music events over the past decade.

With 112 active members, the company’s Encore Scheme has gone from strength to strength since it was launched in 2015, engaging community groups handling a wide and complex range of health and social issues in Leeds and surrounding areas. Together with the Bravo Scheme for individuals who have gained sufficient confidence to attend performances by themselves, Encore seeks to remove any obstacles that might prevent members from accessing live performance, thereby opening a door for more people onto the cultural life of the city.

To mark its tenth birthday, Opera North consulted with members about their experience of being on the scheme and how they thought it could be improved. The result is a new system, launched last August, which gives organisations and individuals the opportunity to independently access and book tickets for both the opera at Leeds Grand Theatre and a wide range of concerts in the Howard Assembly Room, Opera North’s own music venue in the heart of the city. These are free, although there is an option to donate for those in a position to do so. Members receive a monthly what’s on newsletter so they can choose which events they would like to attend, and they can access a video to help them book online. For those for whom travel is an issue, free bus tickets are also available.

As well as ensuring Encore Scheme members can enjoy live performances on the stage, Opera North has an active presence in local communities, working on projects led by the residents themselves to increase accessibility to, and interaction with, the arts on their home turf. Following a year of community engagement work in the Richmond Hill area of the city, a new muti-sensory walking trail is currently being created in collaboration with Leeds City Council and Arup, which aims to encourage people to get outdoors and experience their locality in a new way. Over the past few months, Opera North has been working with local schools, as well as youth and adult groups, to produce songs and soundscapes which will be available to hear along the walking route when it opens this spring.