ON 13TH JANUARY THE MUSICIANS' BENEVOLENT FUND BECAME HELP MUSICIANS UK.

They are dedicated to helping musicians of all genres throughout their professional lives with an understanding of the pressures that professional musicians face and hope that their new name and fresh image will allow them to help even more musicians across the UK.

Since 1921 they've been a vital lifeline for thousands of people in times of crisis, but also in times of opportunity. They help promising young artists to improve their skills and get started in a career, they help existing professional musicians who hit a crisis in their lives, such as accident or illness and they help musicians in retirement and those needing special help as they grow older.

If you need help or know of someone who does, get in touch and spread the word. Most importantly, if you love music and want to help the people who make it, please support Help Musicians UK. They can only help musicians if we help them. Whether it’s physiotherapy and special instruments for musicians affected by accidents or illness, helping older musicians cope with the challenges of retirement, or giving young musicians a vital first career break – your support makes it possible. 

One of my very close friends received help from Help Musicians UK when she needed it most.

I am planning a concert in the Spring to raise money and awareness for Help Musicians UK so that they can continue to support musicians for many years to come. Who knows, I may need their help in the future...

More information coming soon.

New Year's Resolutions, every year we make them, every year we break them within the first few weeks of the year.

However, this year my resolution is simple - to be far far better at updating my website. I vow to blog every month to keep you updated, meaning this will be the perfect place to find out what's going on musically in Gloucestershire as well as finding out first about any of my upcoming performances and events. 

Social media is also a really important tool and to help me to keep all of my photos, tweets and Facebook updates in one place I have discovered a fantastic solution - TINT! 

Take a look at my social media page where you can find snippets from behind the scenes of my work all in one place. TINT allows me to display all of my social media feeds in one place so that you know exactly where to look. It looks sleek and sophisticated and is so versatile, it would work on any site.

Check out TINT to find out if they can help you update your site and keep all your happenings in one spot. Make it your resolution too...

Happy New Year!

What a gloriously glamourously Christmassy morning!

At 10.30am today, Songbirds performed for lots of tiny people and their parents at St Andrew's Church, Montpellier.

The Lilliput concert series is designed specifically with babies, toddlers and music-loving parents in mind and is the idea of professional musician Kate Skeet. Inspired by similar concerts in London, like Classical Babies, the concerts allow parents to introduce their children to classical music from a very early age without the formal constraints of an evening concert.

Songbirds had a fantastic time entertaining a very different kind of audience and are now feeling incredibly festive - and slightly broody! With record numbers it was fantastic to see so many smiling, dancing and clapping audience members - young and old!

Thank you so much to Kate for inviting us to perform. We would be delighted to join Lilliputs again for more music, tea and cake!

Take a look on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LilliputConcerts to see what's coming up next month...

I am delighted to announce that I have joined the teaching staff at Cheltenham College, one of the top 40 co-educational boarding schools in the UK. I currently have students ranging from 3rd to 5th form, with a mix of girls and boys.

I look forward to becoming an active part of the music department and giving my students plenty of opportunities to perform and flourish in the beautiful surroundings of the college. The autumn term has got off to a fantastic start with many of my students preparing for ABRSM and Trinity grades as well as internal and external performances.