This Volunteers’ Week we are celebrating the fantastic people who volunteer their time and expertise to help share live music with people in health and care settings across the UK.
Julie Royce tells us about her experience volunteering at our MusicaliTea event in December in Walton-on-Thames.
“It was a very cold December day in 2022 when I had my first encounter with a live music experience from Music in Hospitals & Care, but it soon warmed me through! Singer-guitarist Hedley Kay entertained us with a diverse range of wonderful music. With Irish folk songs to please Rita from Dublin and Breda from Cork, classics such as Hallelujah and What A Wonderful World, to upbeat numbers from Neil Diamond and The Beatles. He even managed a rendition of Chopin on his guitar!
The twinkly auditorium of the Riverhouse Barn was full – there were Hedley’s biggest fans from the local care home who he has shared live music with in the past and a group who had come with ‘the purple angels’, as well as local regulars.
As Hedley began his medley of songs, the atmosphere visibly changed. People were smiling, singing and clapping along, and some of us even lit up our mobile phones to sing along with Sweet Caroline at the end. It was so good, so good, so good!
I’m looking forward to being a local ambassador for the charity to help contribute to as many people as possible experiencing the healing power of live music.”
Student Volunteering Week: Molly
It’s Student Volunteering Week, and we’re celebrating the important role student volunteers play in helping us share the joy of live music with communities across the UK.
Children’s Mental Health Week: Reuben’s Retreat
We’ve been sharing the joy of live music with children, their families and staff at Reuben’s Retreat in Glossop. The sessions are designed to soothe and support children with life limiting illnesses and offer an opportunity for families to connect with others who understand their experience.
Special live music for Burns Night
Burns Night celebrates the poems and songs of Scotland’s national bard Robert Burns and his lasting legacy. Our musician John Davidson is sharing two special live music experiences at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen to commemorate the day.