Teacher singing to ill children says 'it's humbling'

A music teacher who has helped to bring live singing sessions to children in hospital said the experience has been "humbling".

Hope Rodenhurst has helped raise more than £15,000 for charity Singing Medicine, which provides the experience to young patients at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

The teacher from Telford Music School in Wellington said the charity's recent Big Give campaign had raised £15,611, helping fund bedside music sessions.

The organisation sends musicians into wards to sing with children and their families, offering everything from gentle lullabies to interactive songs.

During the pandemic the charity set up a YouTube channel to deliver music remotely, with videos still available to watch for those in or out of hospital.

"We encourage participation," Rodenhurst said. "If they don't want to participate that's okay as well. It completely depends on the child."

"We try to change how the hospital sounds, even just for five minutes," she added. "It definitely makes such a difference, especially when we've been asked to do sessions, for example, when patients are having a procedure done."

Rodenhurst described working on the wards as "rewarding and humbling".

"It's just unbelievable how strong a lot of these children are, and they just have to be," she said.

She said the group relied on grants and donations to provide its sessions.

"Without these donations we wouldn't be able to do the work we do," she said.

Its Big Give campaign finished on March 24, with donations still being accepted to the charity directly.

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