Projects in childrens' hospitals

University College London Hospital (UCLH)

CLS musicians have been running creative music making sessions with children and young people at University College London Hospital School for over 15 years. These projects give children and young people from oncology and mental health wards opportunities to explore their own creative ideas, make music with CLS players and feel empowered and heard in an environment where they may have little control.

‘He smiled during your session – it’s not often that this happens. It brought a tear to my eye’ Teacher feedback

‘I wasn’t expecting V to engage at all. To get what you got from her was way beyond anyone’s expectations. By the end of the session she was laughing and smiling. The rest of her week was really grim, but your 45 minutes were delightful. It was the best thing that happened to that pupil that week.’ Teacher feedback 

Evelina Children’s Hospital School

Working in close partnership with Evelina Hospital School staff, our residencies aim to engage, inspire and connect people across the hospital through music and creative activities. Through small group and one-to-one interactions, CLS musicians follow the pace of the patients guiding them through activities which encourage independent thinking and offer opportunities for confidence building and creative expression. Musicians also play on the wards, for those who simply want to soak in some live music.

In May 2022 we were delighted to return to Evelina after more than two years when the onset of the Covid pandemic put a stop to visitors in the hospital. Our artistic team worked with children and young people across three days creating music and artwork in response to the Gaia sculpture and CLS’s concert programme for October 2022.