Support our work
With your help, we can transform the lives of children and adults through the power of music – whether it’s by giving a person living with dementia the care and support they need or giving a non-verbal child a way to express themselves and communicate.
At our globally renowned research centre, we’re studying the effects of music therapy for people living with dementia and those recovering from serious brain injuries.
We’re also training the next generation of music therapists as well as providing a vital service to the communities of Cambridgeshire with practical music therapy sessions.
And with your support, we can continue to improve our understanding and help improve more people’s lives at a time when they need it the most.
The Queen's Anniversary Prize
Our world-leading music therapy work, in particular our focus on the wellbeing of people living with dementia, earned The Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2021. These prizes are the highest national honour in higher and further education. They recognise outstanding work that shows the highest levels of quality and innovation and delivers significant public benefit.
Dementia is a debilitating disease that affects one in every 14 people over the age of 65, and one in six people over 80, often causing them to become confused and disorientated, struggle with communication, and experience changes to their mood, memory, personality and behaviour.
For those caring for a loved one with dementia, watching them experience such distressing symptoms can be extremely difficult.
However, through the extraordinary power of music, we can help reconnect people with dementia to their loved ones – and drastically improve their quality of life.
Together in Sound is a ten-week music therapy course, delivered in partnership with Saffron Hall, which aims to increase the quality of life of those living with dementia - along with their carers - through the power of music.
Anne was diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease in 2005, making life a real struggle for her and her husband and carer, Bob.
However, in 2017, Bob’s search for support led the couple to Together in Sound – and this discovery made a huge difference to both of their lives.
Bob says:
"We went to Together in Sound every Friday, and it gave us real peace. It gave us companionship and fulfilment, and it brought back a lovely smile to Anne’s face.
"There are things that happen through music and song to people living with dementia – a glint of understanding would suddenly come to Anne’s eyes, because memory was bringing her back into a world of fun, joy and participation with others.
"It was quite amazing for me to see Anne come into the world of music and song, and that carried on all the way through the rest of her life."
Although there’s still no cure for this debilitating disease, we know that music can give people with dementia, as well as their carers, a much better quality of life, improving their relationships and bringing back connections that would otherwise be lost.
We want to bring the power of Together in Sound to many more people like Bob and Anne – but we urgently need your help so that we can train more music therapists and researchers, buy musical instruments and expand into new areas.