Making Melodic Moments at Mansfield Museums

With the sun shining brightly on both of our recent concert days (we’re beginning to wonder… is it always sunny in Mansfield?), visitors have been stepping in from the warmth outside and into something equally uplifting: live music, connection, and community through our Melodic Moments concert series.

At its heart, Melodic Moments is about creating space – for listening, for connection, and for people to feel welcome. They are relaxed, friendly gatherings where music becomes part of the day, and everyone is invited exactly as they are.

That has been especially meaningful for people living with dementia, their carers, and those with life-limiting conditions, who often tell us how valuable it is to find cultural spaces that feel genuinely accessible and inclusive. But the beauty of the programme is that it belongs to everyone. Some visitors arrive because they love classical music, others because they were passing through the museum and heard a flute around the corner. Both are equally welcome.

A varied programme

So far, audiences have been treated to the wonderful sounds of flute, harp, and bassoon, with musicians Rachel, Lucy, Jemma, and Gareth helping turn the museum galleries into intimate performance spaces filled with conversation as much as music. Over the coming months, a wind quintet will bring energy to our May and July concerts, while June welcomes a mixed ensemble of harp, cello, and oboe. Familiar faces will return too, which is already helping the series feel less like a programme and more like a growing community.

What makes these concerts particularly special is the setting itself. Music drifts through exhibitions, blending with the stories already held within the museum walls. During our most recent visit, the gentle birdsong from A World of Birds – inspired by the internationally significant Joseph Whitaker bird collection – created an unexpectedly beautiful backdrop to the live performance. As musicians played among the branches and memories of My Favourite Tree, inviting visitors to explore not just the music, but the museum itself in a completely new way.

The value of museums

Our partnership with Mansfield Museum matters deeply to us. Museums are places of memory, discovery, and belonging. They hold stories, and they invite people in. By bringing live music into these spaces, we are not just filling a room with sound – we are creating new shared experiences inside places that already mean so much to the local community.

It also sends an important message: high-quality live music should not feel distant or exclusive. It should feel local. It should feel possible. It should feel like something you can stumble across on a sunny afternoon and think, “I’m so glad I came.”

That is exactly what we hope people leave with.

Whether someone comes alone for a quiet hour, brings a friend for something different, or arrives with family to make a day of it, Melodic Moments offers something simple but increasingly rare: time to be present. To listen. To connect. To feel uplifted.

As the series continues, we hope to keep building on that – welcoming more people through the doors, reaching those who may not usually access live performance, and showing just how valuable music can be when it is placed at the centre of community life.

We would love for you to be part of it.

Come along, bring a friend, and enjoy some truly melodic moments with us at Mansfield Museum.