Special Events

Colour & Crescendo is a project which took place at St George’s hospital, Stafford and The Redwoods Centre, Shrewsbury during May to October 2021. The project involved two high quality musicians, Richard Taylor, piano/composition and Sarah Whittingham, violin, both from Manchester Camerata Orchestra. Richard and Sarah came into our mental health settings to perform lovely and uplifting music over the summer of 2021. Their music brought joy and re-connection to our inpatients and staff after months of very little creative arts being allowed in the wards.

Alongside the music we also engaged two other artists: Debbie Todd, visual arts and Jean Atkin, poet. They worked with our activity co-ordinators to invite inpatients to express themselves about the pandemic, the last 18 months. Using colour, text, line and graphics, inpatients and staff created a huge range of beautiful and meaningful artworks on postcards - expressions of how it felt, what had helped them through and what were they most looking forward to. 

During August and September 2021, Richard and Sarah took the postcards away to devise and create two new compositions, inspired by the imagery and text on the postcards as well as their own conversations and connection with the participants on the wards.

In early October, with the new pieces written and composed, Richard and Sarah returned to the hospital sites to perform their new music for the first time!  We have also collaborated with Junction 15 in Stoke on Trent to produce a video of the project plus professional recordings of the new compositions, which can be heard below. 

We are continuing to develop and share this project more widely this year and next, starting with an event at Lichfield Cathedral on Saturday October 8th 2-5pm where Richard and Sarah will be performing the two new compositions in front of a live audience of NHS staff and visitors. 

Derby Air Arts are organising this event: Staff Voices - A Choral Forest, a combination of powerful music and song from the UHDB’s Wellbeing choir and the Cathedral choirs in a performance that celebrates the strength of the NHS. 

Anyone can attend this event - for more information please contact artsforhealth@mpft.nhs.uk