In this month’s blog, Ruth writes about some of the free lunchtime concerts taking place regularly in the city centre.
Most of us use music to boost our mood in one way or another. I’m sure all of us have songs that make us happy and many of us use ‘power playlists’ to boost our energy when exercising but one of the most effective ways to relax is to listen to live music.
With ticket prices increasing rapidly it’s easy to be priced out of going to see your favourite artists perform live but if you’re open to trying different genres and styles there are a couple of opportunities to experience free live music in the city centre during your lunch break.
The University of Liverpool Concert series (@ConcertsUoL) currently holds free concerts every Wednesday at 1pm in the Leggate Theatre at the Victoria Gallery (@VictoriaGallery).
Tickets are booked through Eventbrite and the list of upcoming concerts is available here https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/music/events/lunchtime-concert-series/#d.en.1092561
It’s a varied programme including Korean bamboo flute music and Welsh folk songs. The performance I saw was a string quartet performing interpretations of digital graphic scores, which although was not a genre of music I would listen to at home, it was certainly very interesting!
The performances last approximately one hour and are usually followed by a free (optional) workshop and Q&A after a short break.
The Leggate Theatre is a comfy amphitheatre setting. You can’t take food and drink in but there’s a lovely café downstairs in the gallery if you want a cuppa before or after the show.
Just down the road, the Liverpool Cathedral (@LivCathedral) put on the Francis Neilson lunchtime concert series every other Friday at 12.45pm. The free concerts are held in the Lady Chapel (downstairs at the back of the cathedral or accessible via the side entrance) and range from organ recitals to piano and flute duos. No booking required for this one, just turn up, relax and enjoy!
Taking time out from your working day when you can is always good for wellbeing and if you can combine that with listening to live performances, even better!
In the words of two of my own favourite composers, I’d like to say thank you for the music!
Ruth, Healthwatch Liverpool
#wellbeingliverpool #becreative #becalm
