The Singing Medicine programme by Birmingham-based choral music organisation Ex Cathedra has been nominated for a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award.

Singing Medicine brings singing for wellbeing to babies, children and young people in hospital, and also supports adults affected by stroke and dementia.

Singing Medicine is nominated in the Impact category, for an outstanding initiative that practically engages and sets out to have a lasting impact on the lives of people who may not otherwise experience classical music, demonstrating the positive, empowering role it can play in society. The RPS Awards will be on Thursday 6 March 2025 at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

The Singing Medicine team have worked in Birmingham Children’s Hospital for over 20 years, working at the hospital 52 Fridays every year and visiting some of the most sick and isolated children to bring wellbeing through singing. The team visit as many in-patient areas as they can, including intensive care, high dependency, oncology, burns, and those in protective isolation, to work responsively with children, family and staff.

The singers work in what can be distressing situations, including leading singing sessions at end-of-life care. Singing Medicine has also been adapted to support adults in care settings who are affected by stroke and dementia.

A fundamental principle of Singing Medicine is that that the activities should include the opportunity for choice - because patients are in situations where many choices have been taken away from them. A child might therefore choose what the singing lonely dinosaur gets to have for tea, or a patient affected by stroke might choose the sounds they are working on to incorporate into the music-making.

The team use their extensive experience in choral music to bring the wellbeing benefits of singing, together, to those isolated from home and community, some for long periods of time. Whatever family language, cultural background, medical situation the team respond accordingly. During the pandemic, the Singing Medicine team created thousands of personalised music videos for children when in-person visits were not possible.

Described by The Sunday Times as ‘the biggest night in UK classical music’, the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards are classical music’s annual good news story, shining much-needed light on inspirational individuals, groups and initiatives whose music has lifted hearts and minds across the nation.

This is the second piece of major recognition for Singing Medicine in recent months, after singer Sally Spencer won the Sky Arts Hero award in 2024. Sally is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, working with children with leukaemia, and her extensive nursing experience and passion for music gives leadership and compassionate support to the Singing Medicine team.

The Singing Medicine programme is led by Ex Cathedra, the Birmingham-based choral organisation that leads the sector in the fields of performance, learning and wellbeing: excathedra.co.uk. Find out more about Singing Medicine at singingmedicine.co.uk