With the prospect of silent concert halls this Christmas, the sound of a new carol may signal hope for a brighter future for emerging artists in Manchester.
The venture is being launched by a new organisation dedicated to producing and promoting new music and theatre with emerging artists from the North West.
Vicki Ciaputa founded Script & Score last September, and hopes the venture will encourage talented people to stay within the arts.
She said: “Having grown up, studied and worked in the North West I’ve seen hundreds of amazingly talented young people excel in the arts at school, college and university, but it is extremely difficult to find your feet when you first enter the professional world.
“You need support, networks, and overall paid work to support yourself, and this can be really challenging for emerging artists.
“Freelancing or being self-employed in any profession is difficult and if I can help musicians and theatre makers to forge a sustainable career in the arts I think it can really change the creative landscape of the North West. We want to encourage our homegrown talent to build their careers here.”
Like people in many professions, performing artists have been hit hard by events in 2020, and Vicki says that the idea of writing a new Christmas carol seemed like a poignant opportunity to create something beautiful and meaningful at a really tough time.
But as a not-for-profit organisation, Script and Score needs to raise £1,300 by the start of December to hear their carol ring through the air.
Virtual meetings may not have the same spine-tingling acoustics of concert halls, but Vicki hopes the carol, which will be penned by Manchester-based composer, arranger and vocalist Ollie Lambert and performed by musicians from across the North West.
She said: “Lots of singers and musicians are used to performing a lot at Christmas time, which obviously can’t happen this year, so the thought was to create something that could still create community, even if it is virtually.”
Script & Score is a community interest company for the benefit of early career musicians, actors, composers, writers and directors.
It provides support, advice and opportunities at this critical stage of their career so all profit is reinvested to support future projects.
The Script and Score kickstarter can be found at:
Vicki is also interested in speaking to organisations and individuals who would like to support the company’s mission of helping musicians and theatre makers at the start of their career.
Find out more at www.scriptandscore.co.uk or follow them on Twitter @Script_Score
