Accolade Community Association was established in April 2013 by Musical Directors, Vessie Ivanova and Nikolay Ivanov. Under their outstanding professionalism, Accolade has grown to include two choirs based in Banbridge and Newry, an orchestra and Bulgarian dance troupe. The organisation prides itself in being open to everyone and has over 100 members with 12 nationalities represented. Members have performed at hundreds of community and corporate events as diverse as BuskFest Banbridge, St Patrick’s Day concerts, the Famine Commemoration ceremony in Newry city, fundraising concerts and coffee mornings with organisations such as the Brain Injury Foundation, Fybromyalgia Group, the Southern Area Hospice and community events in local halls and churches, weddings and so the list goes on.
Accolade has delivered 6 major community outreach building and peacebuilding programmes across the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough council and Newry, Mourne and Down council areas in the last 2 years. Projects have included multicultural engagement with ethnic minority groups in Armagh, Kilkeel, Lurgan and Portadown areas, over 30 workshops with elderly people in care home settings; The organisation has also been involved in numerous collaborative projects with local and national community choirs including the Cloughmore Male voice choir, Kaleidoscope, Newry Community Choir, the Open Arts Community choir, Belfast and Rossinka Russian Ladies choir, Belfast.
Accolade has delivered 6 major community outreach building and peacebuilding programmes across the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough council and Newry, Mourne and Down council areas in the last 2 years. Projects have included multicultural engagement with ethnic minority groups in Armagh, Kilkeel, Lurgan and Portadown areas, over 30 workshops with elderly people in care home settings; The organisation has also been involved in numerous collaborative projects with local and national community choirs including the Cloughmore Male voice choir, Kaleidoscope, Newry Community Choir, the Open Arts Community choir, Belfast and Rossinka Russian Ladies choir, Belfast.
Accolade has received invaluable funding support from the two local councils as well as the Arts Council NI, Community Relations Council and Peace III programmes. The excellent standard of their work has been highlighted as an example of best practice by the Arts Council of NI.
Peace building is at the heart of Accolade’s ethos and the organisation has been deeply honoured to perform at the recent Famine Commemoration ceremony in Newry which was attended by international diplomats from over 30 countries. The most recent concert at the Parliament Buildings Stormont on 1st December 2015 courtesy of Jo-Anne Dobson MLA, was the greatest recognition of Accolade’s professionalism and peacebuilding work to date.
Peace building is at the heart of Accolade’s ethos and the organisation has been deeply honoured to perform at the recent Famine Commemoration ceremony in Newry which was attended by international diplomats from over 30 countries. The most recent concert at the Parliament Buildings Stormont on 1st December 2015 courtesy of Jo-Anne Dobson MLA, was the greatest recognition of Accolade’s professionalism and peacebuilding work to date.
