Author: DavidH

Derby Hospitals Choir Helps Happiness!

Staff demonstrate the system to choir members

Earlier this year we donated £3000 to “The Happiness Project” at The King’s Lodge neurological rehabilitation unit.  The Happiness Project uses an interactive projection system to help cognitive behavioural recovery, encouraging coordination, mental and physical exercise and social activity in a fun way – making recovery a more positive and enjoyable experience.  The photograph shows Allanah and Jen demonstrating one of the many activities – a leaf-sweeping game – to three of our members, Joy, Kath & David, watched by Jill Matthews, Chief Officer of Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity.  Jill said “The money raised by the choir  for this unit is helping both speed patient’s recovery and improve their well-being. Donations of all kinds help to make a difference to the care we can provide.”  (Photograph courtesy of Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity.)

£3,500 Raised at 2023 Concert!

Following our concert in December 2023, we have been able to donate £3000 to King’s Lodge Neurological Rehabilitation Unit (in the Florence Nightingale Hospital) and £500 to Art in Hospital at the Derby and Burton Hospitals Trust. The £3000 will be used to fund The Happiness Project – providing software that facilitates customised treatments for patients at King’s Lodge.

This is a great result and the committee would like to thank everyone who supported the concert, and of course our members who put in all that singing practice!

You can listen to how we sounded by clicking on the links below:

2024!

A Happy New Year and big thank you to all those who helped put on another great concert. With around 60 in the choir and 250 in the audience, St. Alkmund’s was almost full but still comfortable. The committee will be meeting soon to review how much we can give to our selected beneficiaries (King’s Lodge Neurological Rehabilitation & Art in Hospital) and I will let you know the result here before the end of January. I have heard many positive comments from the audience about the concert, and choir members can be pleased with how well it went. We will also let you know about this year’s programme – particularly the AGM, rehearsal and Christmas Concert dates.

I hope to have Benoit’s sound recordings available later this month too. In the meantime, here are a few photos taken by Benoit….

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£1000 Presentation at AGM

At this year’s AGM, the Hospital Choir presented Jill Matthews (Chief Officer of Derby & Burton Hospital Charity) with a cheque for £1000 for the Diabetes and Endocrinology Department, raised at the 2022 Christmas Concert. The AGM was held at St. Alkmund’s Church on Kedleston Road – the venue for our next Christmas Concert.

Presentation to Jill Matthews by David Henshaw

Successful concert after 3 year gap!

The choir restarted with great enthusiasm after a three year Coivd gap. The concert, held in St. John’s Methodist Church, Allestree, on 9-December-2022 sold out with a full house of around 150 in the audience and nearly 50 in the choir. Thanks to the efforts of all involved, I am pleased to announce that the concert has raised £1000 for the hospital’s Diabetes and Endocrinology department! As part of restarting we also recently donated £2400 to Air Ambulance and £2400 to Derbyshire Blood Bikes – so a total of £5800 to good causes.

We have now retrieved our music from storage and are looking through it to plan the 2023 Christmas Concert – watch this space…