Go forth and follow your dream

You may have seen that bdb hosted an exclusive opera soirée at Bowcliffe Hall with extraordinary performers from Opera North last month. The pop-up opera was an amazing experience but it was not a stand alone event for us at bdb; it was part of a corporate sponsorship that we entered into with Opera North earlier this year. 

Opera North is a national opera company based in Leeds, and is a leading UK arts organisation. Opera North believes opera and music is for everyone, and champions diversity in artists, repertoire and audiences. They create extraordinary experiences, every day; a tag line that really resonated with us here at bdb. 

At bdb we aim to offer remarkable experiences, which the soirée certainly was! However, our  corporate sponsorship is much more than just an event. We think it is important to support local talent, and the community, and being a sponsor of Opera North is really doing that!

As a registered charity they rely on many different forms of income to continue their work. As a corporate sponsor we are proud to be supporting them. Not only do they offer amazing performances, in and out of the theatre, they also connect with communities and inspire people of all ages and walks of life to explore opera, music and the arts. 

In Harmony is an award-winning branch of their education programme involving six schools in south Leeds. Working with over 1800 children and young people on a weekly basis, giving them the opportunity to learn to sing and play an instrument. Music is recognised as having a positive impact on an individual's health and well-being, and embedding it in school life has been shown to raise aspirations, confidence and aid the development of vital communication skills. A pupil from Low Road Primary School, part of the In Harmony programme, said “What In Harmony taught me is that if you believe you can, you know you can”. 

‘Believe you can’ is one of our company values at bdb so this statement could not be more fitting! Knowing that our support of Opera North is helping to inspire a future generation in this way is incredible and we are very proud to play a part in this. 

Here is New Bewerley School (Year 3) learning ‘Child of Tomorrow’ which I am sure you will agree is very heart-warming! 

As the song so aptly says, ‘Go forth and follow your dream’!