East Kent charity Music4Wellbeing (“M4W”) is launching a new song project involving more than 150 people across east Kent with ages ranging from ten to ninety.
The ‘Sing from the Heart’ project was conceived by Charlie Hannah, a therapeutic arts practitioner from Cliftonville who has worked with the charity for seven years. Earlier this year Charlie had the idea of creating an original musical piece that would celebrate the mental, physical and social benefits of amateur group singing, with the emphasis on singing ‘from the heart’ rather than on being trained or experienced as a singer.
He introduced the song to six of M4W’s singing groups for adults with dementia or additional needs, including the Gap Project in Broadstairs and the Seaside Singers in Margate, and invited them to contribute their own ideas that could be incorporated into the lyrics. These were woven into the final version of the song which has subsequently been recorded.
An important part of the project involves Year 6 students at Ramsgate Arts School, who are currently engaged in learning the song. Their voices will be added to the recording and then there will be a get-together where students and members of M4W’s Margate-based dementia singing group, Seaside Singers, can get to know each other, share their experiences and sing together.
A grand performance will take place on November 20 at Queens Road Baptist Church, Broadstairs. This will be accompanied by a live band comprising some of east Kent’s best musical talent, while the stage will host some 100 singers. The event aims to demonstrate the power of music to unite generations and to celebrate neurodiversity.
Following this live performance, the song will be released on digital platforms, including a music video and mini documentary of the making of Sing from the Heart. Music4Wellbeing is a Kent-based charity that specialises in therapeutic musical interventions aimed at improving wellbeing. The organisation was launched in 2012 and became a charity in 2023.
For more information on the event in November or M4W’s activities in east Kent, please see the website www.music4wellbeing.org.uk or email [email protected]
