The Northern Chamber Orchestra (NCO) has come a long way since it was set up in 1967. It now presents a successful, annual series of concerts at The Heritage Centre in Macclesfield and The Stoller Hall in Manchester, which attract top-flight soloists. The NCO is the house orchestra at Buxton Festival, playing for its main opera productions, and now regularly gives orchestral concerts at Buxton Opera House and the Pavilion Arts Centre. The orchestra is Orchestra in Association at Manchester’s Stoller Hall. It also performs across the North of England and is regularly included in Orchestras Live programmes across rural areas, including the Lake District. Mind Music is a project by the Northern Chamber Orchestra exploring the effects of live music on people living with dementia. The NCO developed Mind Music to raise awareness of dementia, and the project work ranges from high-profile fund-raising concerts to working in care homes as part of therapy, while generating crucial data for research into how music can improve and repair cognitive functions. The NCO are working with the Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care at Manchester Metropolitan University, providing one of their undergraduates with the opportunity to work on real-world projects alongside experienced researchers from the Faculty.