Nine budding music stars of the future have been appointed as honorary Musicians in Residence for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust by the charity Arts in Healthcare.
Alex Bailey, Henry Bristow, Beth Couch, Niamh Hayden-Ling, Harry Keeble, Thomas Pickering, Donya Rafati, Frances Thomas-Barrell and Francesca Tilley will give their time for free to play at Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne District General Hospital.
Six of the youngsters gave a musical performance at Conquest Hospital on Sunday 6th March and were presented with certificates by Dr Tony Biggin, musician and composer and Director of the East Sussex Music Service until his recent retirement.
Dr Biggin said; “It is marvellous to be to be able to support these talented young musicians in this fantastic venture. The ‘Arts in Healthcare’ project is a wonderful initiative and huge thanks are due to Dr Richard Wray and the Trust for working so hard to ensure that the scheme continues to grow and develop.”
The scheme in East Sussex, which aims to encourage musicianship, leadership and commitment, provides the largest live music programme in any hospital in the UK.
Arts in Healthcare works with health professionals in the Trust to integrate the arts into healthcare services and the environment for the therapeutic benefit of patients and staff and for the enjoyment of the wider local community.
They organise regular lunchtime music sessions at the Trust’s hospitals, featuring a range of different musicians to entertain patients and visitors.