I am a professional harpist with over 10 years experience delivering music sessions in hospital and health care settings on a 29 string Celtic harp.
This project will provide a series of live harp concerts and workshops in both adult and children’s hospices around the country.
Live music is proven to promote wellbeing in clinical environments for patients, visitors and staff, and this project aims to extend these positive outcomes for those receiving end of life care in hospices all across England. The project will be fully funded meaning there will be no costs to any hospices involved.
“Patients loved the harp music in the unit and also on the wards as Mark played in this area of the hospice as well. The music is an invaluable part of the experience for patients.”
Concert feedback – Woking and Sam Beare Hospice, July 2017
The project is subject to funding and will run from Autumn/Winter 2017 for a year.
Harp concerts and music sessions
The harp sessions will be patient led, and so adaptive to the needs of each hospice, but typically will include:
- A concert in a day room available for all patients, visitors and staff,
- followed by individual music sessions for those unable to leave their rooms and workshops for anyone who would like to explore how to make music on the harp.
My concerts for adults are informal and include calming arrangements of popular standards from the 50s to the present day interspersed between light classical and jazz styles. Audiences can expect to hear unique arrangements of everything from Frank Sinatra, Bob Marley and The Beatles, as well as Michael Jackson, Ed Sheeran and Adele.
Sessions also include a range of individual or small group harp based workshop activities that are adaptive to all ages and abilities.
Older person music sessions
I offer bespoke programmes for older person and dementia units.
- My programme for older person and dementia units concentrates on music as nostalgia, with harp arrangements of a host of sing-a-long songs from the 40s, 50s and 60s interspersed with light classical and traditional pieces.
- Concerts are also very conversational, inviting patients and families to talk about music, find out more about the harp and have a go playing too.
- I follow a patient led approach adapting the pace of the concert and level of interactivity as per the needs of the audience. If some wish to doze and simply relax to the music than the concert will facilitate this.
I perform these sessions in care homes throughout the South East as well as older person hospital wards, most recently as part of the ‘Memory Lane’ project at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital bringing music to dementia, stroke and older person wards every week.
Care Home Medley
“Very interactive, encouraging and open to the residents preferences; Mark gave us a lovely performance and the feedback from all the residents was very positive.”
Anita Tsneva, St Teresa Residential Home – Kensington, London
“Wonderful – relaxing, beautiful. One lady said she had always liked the harp and was captivated from the very start to the very end.” Jean Saunders, Bradbury Centre – Shepperton, Surrey
“The harp was very popular with our residents, everyone loved the performance and liked the variety of the songs.” Cynthia Harmer, Northlands House Nursing Home – Southampton
Background and experience
I am based in Surrey and work predominately in the South East, however this project will include hospices all over England.
My arts in health experience includes:
- Longstanding resident harpist at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.
- Harpist in residence at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital.
- Resident musician on the Breathe Arts Health Research regular music program for St Guys and St Thomas Hospitals, London.
- Longstanding member of the Music in Hospitals charity.
- Leading training sessions for Royal College of Music students on how to approach hospital ward sessions.
- Non health bookings range from St James’ Palace to Glastonbury Festival.
Harp For Hospitals 