Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People

Rainbows delivers essential end-of-life care, creating new memories for children, young people and their families through their Music Therapy Service.  The Radcliffe Trust ‘Therapy and Special Needs’ category supports charities such as Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People in order to provide care for children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, from across the East Midlands, including the provision of Music Therapy.

Thanks to the grant from the Radcliffe Trust, Rainbows has been able to offer therapeutic support for the most vulnerable and poorly children and young people with life limiting conditions.  The grant has also enabled the music therapist to visit wards in the two major hospitals in the area to meet new referrals as well as children and families already known to Rainbows.  This offers something familiar and engaging during often highly stressful periods for both the children and their families.

Throughout this project Rainbows have been able to offer bespoke sessions to children and young people across the entire East Midlands. Sessions have been offered at the hospice when children are resident for respite or end of life care, in their own homes or in the main hospital sites within the region. This means there is a continuity of care and provision of services so that families feel engaged and supported by the hospice without even setting foot in the door.

Young Music Makers of Dyfed

Young Music Makers of Dyfed, with the help of a grant from The Radcliffe Trust encourages young people to perform, and compose, and in doing so elevate their horizons as to the standards of these artistic disciplines.

The Young Composer scheme was supported by a grant from The Radcliffe Trust and began in September 2022 with presentations by the Resident Composer and the Ensemble – a string trio of players from BBC NOW – in three counties in Wales-Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Ceredigion.

They were delighted that over 90 young people took part in the group tutorials over the Autumn term and expect about 60 finished compositions to be submitted. They are being submitted now and will be workshopped and recorded with the Ensemble and the Resident Composer in March 2023. A selection of works will then be performed in a public concert at the end of March.

Young Music Makers of Dyfed would be unable to pay the Resident Composer without the award by The Radcliffe Trust.  The lasting legacy of this programme is that some young composers realise that composition could be their life’s work and go on to study composition at University.  Bringing on the next generation of composers

Charles Wood Festival of Music (Charles Wood Summer School)

The Radcliffe Trust were delighted to be able to award The Charles Wood Festival of Music and Summer School (CWFMSS) a grant to help them return, following the challenges of the last two years due to Covid, with a full programme of over 20 live and digital events in Armagh’s sacred spaces, from Sunday 21st to Sunday 28th August 2022. The week was packed with top-quality music and performance.

The award from the Radcliffe Trustees had a transformative impact on the project. The grant allowed CWFMSS to assemble some of the best young professional and aspiring-professional singers from across the UK and Ireland to take part in their week-long Festival. The singers worked under the expert tuition of David Hill, Philip Scriven and Paul Farrington. These young singers will be able to take the skills they have learned back with them to their communities.

The Charles Wood Singers participated in numerous church services during the week, including a live service of Choral Evensong for BBC Radio 3 on Wednesday 24th August, as well as recording a Morning Service for BBC Radio Ulster. Both of these services were recorded in St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral. The choir also performed at Sung Mass in St Malachy’s Church and St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, celebrated on both occasions by Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh.

Many singers choose to return to Armagh each year to participate in The Charles Wood Festival, either as singers or as audience members. In this way, the work of the Festival, supported by The Radcliffe Trust grant, aims to ensure a positive future for sacred church and choral music.

Ulster Youth Orchestra

The Radcliffe Trust awarded a grant to The Ulster Youth Orchestra for the Summer Residential Course in 2022 where 90 incredibly talented young musicians spent 10 days rehearsing.  After which they delivered two outstanding concerts, conducted by the internationally acclaimed conductor Jac van Steen at the Guildhall in Derry/Londonderry and at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.

The project has re-invigorated the young musicians after three years without playing together (the last summer residential was in August 2019). Applicant numbers for 2023 have risen sharply due to the success of this project.  This is excellent news indeed and shows the power of playing and developing together.

General Manager Paula Klein said “We do not ever want to be in a position where we cannot provide the first-class musical experience that we have done for 29 years. Thank you to The Radcliffe Trust for your generous support – it is hugely appreciated.”