Elgar Enablement Unit at Southmead Hospital has received a brand-new piano just in time for Christmas.
The piano was donated by the Channel 4 television programme ‘The Piano’, produced by Love Productions, as part of their Christmas celebrations.
The gift was unveiled by Harry Hussey and Fiona Bennett, who appeared in the first series of ‘The Piano’ and performed a festive concert for patients and their families.
The new instrument means the hospital can explore new ways to deploy volunteer pianists and increase the music provision available to patients in Elgar Enablement Unit, which cares for many people who are waiting for arrangements to be made for their ongoing care needs.
Trainee Music Therapists will be able to use the instrument for one-to-one and group music therapy sessions, as well as staff, patients and their families.
The Fresh Arts programme at NBT has over 60 volunteer musicians and provides a full schedule of live music to use the power of the arts to make a positive difference to patients, visitors and staff.
In 2022-2023, the programme delivered 495 hours of music in the Brunel building atrium from guest performers and volunteer musicians, with 81 hours of music performed by professional musicians in clinical spaces reaching 755 patients, 1466 staff and 1015 visitors.
Laura Tanner, Music Manager at NBT, said “This new instrument is a fantastic addition to our existing pool of musical resources. Having a piano of such quality in Elgar Enablement Unit will positively impact our wider music programme in a wide variety of ways.
“Every day, there are people in our care who might be having the best day of their life, or the very worst, and everything imaginable in between. The chance to experience high quality live music within our clinical spaces often comes as a big surprise.
“Music is often described as a language beyond words, able to express the inexpressible. Here in the hospital, it can be very powerful.”
The piano has already been enjoyed in the unit as part of events to mark Disability History Month, where the hospital hosted a guest professional musician, Rachel Starritt, who is registered blind. The hospital Chaplaincy team also used the instrument for their Christmas service earlier in December.