Have Your Say Poets
Toreh O'Garro
The World We Live In
Toreh O'Garro is a spoken word artist, poet, curator & workshop faciliator for Young Identity. His work is an expression of how he sees the world globally, locally and politically as an neurodivergent artist. Toreh has performed and been commissioned by HOMEmcr, BBC Radio 5 Live & Manchester Literature Festival, as well as writing for Manchester Youth Contemporary Opera and Zone6mag. His most recent work, SlpMcr, is a digital exhibition exploring the nostglia and current changes in the city of Manchester.
Eleanor Austin
How We See The World
Eleanor is enthusiastic about using the arts to inspire people with confidence,
communication and creativity.
She has assisted music therapists at SEN schools and LIME Music For Health at The Royal
Manchester Children’s Hospital. Last year, she self-founded Recovery Choir, a community
choir which unites people across Manchester who share a common illness. As the Director
of Children’s Voices for Olympias Music Foundation, she encourages children to find their
voices through music-making.
Eleanor uses her words to advocate for greater awareness around mental health, diversity,
and equality. This Summer, she has written libretto for Manchester Contemporary Youth
Opera for a project combining opera and film to explore ‘the act of creating during
isolation’.
This year, Eleanor graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with a BMus (Hons)
1 st in Vocal and Opera Studies. She hopes to pursue a career in Music Therapy.
Xia Leon Sloane
Hope And Celebration
Xia Leon Sloane, (formally known as Alexia Sloane) is a UK-based composer and poet. Their work often engages with contemporary concerns, particularly the ecological crisis. Last year, their vocal octet Earthward was premièred by Voces8 at the BBC Proms. They have also had the privilege to work with members of the Aurora Orchestra and Ensemble 10:10, the Brodsky Quartet and the Hermes Experiment among other notable ensembles, as well as soloists such as Oliver Coates and Huw Watkins.
As a poet, they are currently completing a collection of entitled 'mermaids need to feed their children' which is rooted in queer, gender and feminist issues, mental heal, spirituality, and how these relate to nature and the environmental emergency.