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.
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.
A hugely successful event at Lichfield Cathedral on Saturday October 8th with Derby Air Arts and Arts for Health showcasing creative work that took place during the pandemic including sculptures, visual arts, choral songs and new instrumental compositions… all in a magnificent setting underneath Luke Jerram’s Moon.
There was a performance of powerful music and song from the Lichfield Cathedral Choir with the Wellbeing Choir of the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, in a performance that celebrated the strength of the NHS during the pandemic.
Also an exhibition of beautiful hand drawn tree sculptures by Artists E J Lance and Miles Halpin, inspired by the NHS.
Arts for Health contributed to the event with a display of artworks created by our inpatients and staff in 2021 – as part of our Colour & Crescendo project. The project musicians - Richard Taylor on piano and Sarah Whittingham on violin - played their two compositions which were the creative response to their visits to our hospital sites and to the artworks created by inpatients and staff.
Arts for Health will be developing the Colour & Crescendo project into 2023 with some more exciting collaborations and creative engagement.
We had a fantastic afternoon at Redwoods with our Summer Celebration on 19th August 2022 – it was a chance to bring inpatients, their families and friends, staff and local artists and musicians together for an afternoon of fun, live music, refreshments, creativity, ice cream and re-connection!
The weather was very kind to us and everyone who came along really enjoyed themselves. We are hugely grateful to our various Trust teams who supported the event: management, AHP's, clinical staff, catering, estates, porters and of course all the musicians that played and the artist’s workshops.