Newcastle’s community orchestra Semitones has received £1,000 through SPAR’s Community Cashback initiative.
Consisting of volunteer musicians, the orchestra is based in the Gosforth area of the city, and members have been performing together twice a month in care homes across Newcastle since 2009.
The group’s concerts encourage people to come together, and Semitones are particularly popular towards Christmas when their concerts are in demand and are held more frequently throughout December.
Members of Semitones were delighted to attend SPAR Salters Road in Gosforth where they assembled alongside the store team with their instruments to receive the cheque.
Annette Hames, from Semitones, said: “This grant from SPAR is extremely important for us. We receive no funding and rely on donations and small grants.
“All Saints’ Church in Gosforth has kindly allowed us to rehearse rent-free in their upstairs room for many years, but after the recent rises in the cost of energy, they have asked for a small rent for heating and lighting. The Community Cashback funding will enable us to pay the rent for the next two years and purchase some equipment to allow is to continue performing.
“We love Semitones and the music that we play. Most importantly, so do the older people with dementia who we play for. Sunday afternoons are joyous. When residents, relatives, and staff laugh, sing, clap, and sway, it gives us great pleasure.”
SPAR Community Cashback returned more popular than ever in its fourth consecutive year and James Hall & Co. Ltd, SPAR’s primary retailer, wholesaler and distributor for the North of England, received 1,400 applications from charities and organisations across the North.
Nationally, more than 65 charities and local groups have shared a £100,000 grant fund this year, and since Community Cashback launched in 2021, grants have been awarded to nearly 200 organisations, highlighting SPAR’s long-term commitment in supporting local communities.
Philippa Harrington, Marketing Manager at James Hall & Co. Ltd, said: “When we read about Semitones in the applications we received for SPAR Community Cashback and learned about their performances in care homes in Newcastle, it really struck a chord with us, and we are delighted to be able to support the group.
“The orchestra’s community ethos really chimes with what we set out to achieve as SPAR and we hope that the funding enables the group to keep playing to enthusiastic audiences in the years ahead.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
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