Cheering up communities through music, a professional violinist moves to Sheffield to continue with his doorstep concerts.
After having to swap hospital bedsides for local doorsteps, as a result of the pandemic, Adrian Garratt has been a huge success, playing over 300 doorstep concerts over the past year.
Mr Garratt said: “It has been extremely positive and the most joyous thing and it has been nice for people to hear live music during lockdown, but it has also been nice for me as I’ve had a chance to meet new people and get out having a chat and playing music whilst earning a bit of money. It has been so lovely to play for people.”
The violinist has been involved in Arts for Health for the past 30 years, but when the pandemic hit, he had to find a new way of bringing joy to people through his music.
Many people that booked Mr Garratt were unsure of what to expect from his concerts but the response he received has been overwhelmingly positive.
Mr Garratt added: “A lot of street gatherings have happened over the past year and often I would complement people on having a lovely community and they will say actually I have never met these people before, so it is nice to get people together and have fun and enjoy the music.”
Over lockdown, people were desperate to celebrate birthdays and mark occasions in any way they could and Mr Garratt’s concerts have proved to be a lovely gift whether it be in person or over zoom.
Mr Garratt takes requests from his audience, playing everything from classical music, to folk, to pop songs to get everyone singing and dancing.
He said: “I enjoy Stevie Wonder, a bit of Mozzart and I really enjoy joyous music, ABBA is weirdly good to play and the folk stuff is really fun. The classical stuff written for a violin is rewarding to play but I would much rather play something people want to hear, that is by far the most interesting to me.”
To book a doorstep concert, contact Mr Garratt over his Facebook page, Doorstep Concerts, or email his wife, Sarah at sarah.tipple@gmail.com.
