AAM's Big Birthday Bash - A Celebration to Remember!
We're thinking about our Big Birthday Bash and can't stop smiling. On the 29th of October, along with the help of some friends, we took York St John University’s Temple Hall by storm.
Creative Director Rose Kent started the proceedings and set the scene for our epic Birthday Celebration. First up, our talented IMPs took the audience on a musical adventure. This included originals written by the IMPs such as ‘Warm Inside’, ‘Jam’ and a seasonal favourite ‘Autumn Days’. All were met with tremendous applause. They ended their set with a good ol’ sing-along to their feel-good anthem, ‘Good, Good, Good’. We thought they were all ace!
Our friends in the York St John’s Contemporary Ensemble gave us all a flavour of their modern style. It was one of their first performances of the term, and we were thrilled to have them join in our celebrations. It was only fitting, given our long-standing relationship with the University.
Next up, our Movers & Shakers mesmerised the audience with a moving scarf dance and improvised soundscape. It’s the first time that participants from our Sensory Programme have performed alongside our Hands and Voices and IMPs choirs. What a magical moment it was. They smashed it!
We were so happy to share the day with another wonderful choir who we’ve had a long partnership with. Communitas, led by Chris Bartram, have been singing for an incredible 14 years. It was Chris who helped us forge our relationship with York St John University when he headed up their Community Music course. So we've got a lot to thank him for! The choir encourages those recovering from mental ill-health to sing to help recovery. We think they're fab, and we always love having them perform with us.
Our Hands & Voices were fantastic as always. Like IMPs, they chose to sing only AAM originals and brought the house down. We had ‘Everybody in the Town’, ‘Ragnarock’ and ‘Angels’ in the mix with other memorable hits, and they were all proper toe-tappers! Hands & Voices' energy when they're performing is unmatched, and it’s events like this where they really shine.
Before we knew it, it was time to get everyone back on stage for the finale. Our Programme Manager Hannah and the Project team had an earworm up their sleeves for this one – we can’t stop singing it! With the help of our participants, she adapted an English folk song to feature wonderful AAM memories, set to a familiar tune called ‘We’re AAM, How’z ‘At?’. It’s got everything, gnomes, busking, and even fish and chips! What’s more, it got everyone involved.
We challenge you not to get it in your head:
We took donations on the door, where we raised an AAM-azing £989.90! Donations like these will help lay the foundations for another 40 years to come, so we were over the moon. It was the icing on the cake to a lovely day. Speaking of cake, we were blown away by the tasty cake made for us by Pina at The Cake Box. It really did taste as scrumptious as it looked!
Photographer Jemma from JMA Photography was on hand to capture the laughter, the smiles and the energy of an incredible day. We’re in love with how the photos came out. Last but by no means least, we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came down, performed, volunteered, donated, and stayed for a chat and some cake at the end.
Here’s to another 40 years!