Reimagining classical music through warm and welcoming experiences that inspire curiosity, creativity and confidence.
MishMash Productions is a registered charity and Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. We believe music belongs to everyone and work to create a classical music offer that is inclusive, engaging and relevant to contemporary audiences.
Placing audiences at the heart of everything we do, we collaborate with musicians, communities, venues and cultural organisations across the UK to challenge traditional approaches to classical music engagement and build a more diverse, confident and connected sector..
How do we do this?
- Producing and Touring – creating and touring exceptional audience-centred classical music experiences that connect with children, families and communities in theatres, schools, libraries, festivals and community settings
- Workforce Development and Diversity – developing musicians, producers and cultural professionals through paid opportunities, training, mentoring and alternative career pathways, with a commitment to increasing diversity and representation across the sector
- Advocacy and Sector Development – sharing learning, championing audience-centred practice and collaborating with partners to help create a more inclusive, relevant and sustainable future for classical music
Productions
By collaborating with directors and designers, we produce and tour high-quality productions where live music and performance bring stories, emotions and ideas to life. Our talented and multi-skilled MishMash musicians playfully interact with audiences, inviting children to fully immerse themselves in the magic of music, often for the very first time.
From the extraordinary responses we hear from children and adults, we can be confident about the impact of our innovative approach. Audiences at leafy suburban theatres, cosmopolitan concert halls, inner-city schools, and rural libraries come away having had an overwhelmingly positive and transformative experience, which we hope plays a central role in sparking a lifelong journey of music enjoyment.
“Absolutely stunning. An incredible performance. Beautiful music and set. A perfect way to introduce young children to classical music.” Audience Member, Smile
In 2026, our touring productions include our new touring productions for schools Fishing for Haiku. as well as a national tour of our fabulous show Strange Creatures: A Beegu Story.
Working with schools
Our Musician in Residence programme links schools with professional musicians, opening up a world where music becomes part of the fabric of school life, whether that’s in the classroom, playground or assembly hall.
Through our programme, we have found that bringing music into the school day positively supports and enhances many curriculum areas, as well as student well-being and enrichment activities, with young people becoming confident audiences and co-creators.
Diversifying our workforce
At MishMash we understand the clear benefits that greater diversity can bring to our work’s richness, innovation and impact. That is why we are committed to developing a future musician workforce that increasingly reflects the diversity of our audiences. Through our own initiatives or by collaborating with partners such as the National Youth Orchestra, Royal Academy of Music, and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire we create progressive, training pathways, nurturing and developing participants’ skills and ideas based on our central principles of connection and communication.
Cross-sector collaborations
We love to collaborate and learn alongside our partners. In recent years we have collaborated with Sinfonia Viva the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Scottish Ensemble to develop new work for our audiences, as well as frequently collaborating with academics and students at the University of Nottingham on research and development projects.
We would love to hear from new collaborators, musicians, and partners. If you wish to programme a MishMash performance at your venue or school, learn more about our innovative approaches, or participate in future professional development opportunities, please email us at liz@mishmashproductions.co.uk.
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What they say:
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access (EDIA) Statement
We are dedicated to inclusive music experiences.
We believe that classical music should be accessible to all and are committed to our work being experienced and performed by diverse people, representative of the world we live in, and actively welcoming of people with all and intersecting identities. We have a particular focus on ensuring young people from all socio-economic backgrounds are able to experience high quality and engaging classical music. We actively seek to work with people from under-represented groups and build meaningful relationships nationally with underserved communities.
We demonstrate our commitment through the diversity of our programming and commitment to creating career pipelines which foster and nurture environments where diversity can thrive. We ensure the people who work with us feel valued and belong through the implementation of inclusive actions and a commitment to regular listening activities. We engage diverse voices and experiences to inform our programming and wider work.
We are proud of our policies, Board structure and long-term participation in EDI development opportunities. We welcome the importance of accountability and understand that EDI is a continuous journey.
Strategic Aims:
- Diversity of the people we work with
- Diversity of the people who experience our work
- Inclusive working environments
- Inclusive recruitment, retention and career development practices
- Accountability and business planning
WORKFORCE SURVEY 2025-26 SUMMARY
Environmental Sustainability Statement
We recognise that we have a responsibility to the environment beyond legal and regulatory requirements. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and improving sustainability as an integral part of our strategic and operational development.
We encourage our workforce, partners, audiences and other stakeholders to ensure that our Environmental Sustainability Action Plan aims and objectives are met. With this Action Plan we will monitor MishMash Production’s environmental performance and take necessary actions to improve and reduce our environmental impacts, and we will incorporate these factors into the early stages of planning for all projects and productions.
We acknowledge that we are in the early stages of this work and that our policy commitment and practice will develop over time. In developing the action plan detailed below we have identified realistic and achievable goals to kick-start our commitment to Environmental Sustainability.