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Each year the Royal Albert Hall plays host to a series of concerts designed to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust. These concerts feature a range of musical and comical talent.
To complement these concerts, the Hall’s Learning & Participation team run music workshops for young people living with cancer who come from units all over the country to attend.
The workshops provide patients and ex-patients with an opportunity to explore the nature of song writing and the musical structures and techniques involved, either through lyric writing, singing, or hands-on experience playing guitars, keyboards and drums.
No prior musical knowledge or involvement is required, and no-one is put 'on-the-spot' or forced to perform unless happy to. A team of music students and professionals are on hand to provide one-to-one tuition, assistance and encouragement; a fun, free-for-all, cooperative atmosphere is encouraged. The theme of each workshop is loosely based on the style of whichever act is headlining in the main hall of the RAH that evening. Each session culminates in a performance to the artists appearing in that evening’s show. The workshop leader will steer the disparate elements of singers, lyricists and instrumentalists towards this goal.
The aim is to engage, encourage and inspire participants in an informal, unthreatening but stimulating creative environment to express themselves musically and lyrically, and have a great time in the process.
Letter to Eloise & Katie Memorial Trust from Alastair Tallon, Head of Learning & Participation, Royal Albert Hall
I wanted to write and express my thanks for the funding for another year’s workshops as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust week. This is one of the highlights in our programme, and we are delighted that you will again be supporting this. I know that the benefit to the teenagers is immense; it gives them the opportunity to put to one side, for a time, their illness, their treatments and dealing with a difficult situation; and have some fun. Not only do they have fun, but they also learn new skills and discover new talents – to see their sense of accomplishment and their excitement when they have performed their piece is very enriching for all of us involved. So a massive thank you from the Learning & Participation team and out workshop leaders for enabling us to continue to offer these opportunities to these young people.
Comments from Participants:
"Hi, just saying thanks for yesterday. It was amazing. AMAZING!! One of the best times of my life. You guys do a fantastic job, really appreciated. I can't wait til the next time!"
"Thanks for the most amazing time ever! I never thought I would shake the hand of a Rolling Stone! My Dad is so so jealous!"
Comments from TCT to the Royal Albert Hall
“On behalf of all the staff at Teenage Cancer Trust and every patient thank you for all of your support through out the week of the concerts.
Each year the workshops seem to get better and better and we can put so much of that down to the help and organisation of your team. Without the great workshops the patient’s day at the Hall just wouldn’t be as eventful as it has been during the last 2 years.
Each day we had patients telling us how much they had enjoyed the workshops and how they had found a new confidence in themselves along with a few new musical skills, which credit can only go to you along with Tom, Mike and Joel.”
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