Day 2 of the Essential Advent Calendar, and we commemorate this most wonderful time of the year by remembering the valuable contribution music plays in our lives, not just during this time of global crisis, but every year. Nordoff Robbins music therapy charity is delighted to be hosting ‘The Stars Come Out To Sing At Christmas’ on Tuesday 15th December, a star studded evening of Christmas carols, festive messages and spectacular musical performances streamed here.
For the first time ever, the much-loved Nordoff Robbins Carol Service will be virtual, as they continue the legacy of this special event bringing family, friends and supporters together. Hosted by music’s most loved legend, Nile Rodgers, this years’ service will bring Christmas to you at home, with special appearances from a star-studded line-up across the world including Sir Cliff Richard, the international star who has spent four Christmases at number one, with contributions from Roger Daltrey of The Who, the incredible Florence Welch, plus the sublime Jack Savoretti.
American pop-rockers OneRepublic are also joining the bill, with some of the UK’s finest musical talents Freya Ridings, Kaiser Chiefs, James Dean Bradfield from Manic Street Preachers, Simple Minds, Rebecca Ferguson, and The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue. It’s an evening jam packed with special appearances, including a festive message from BBC Young Musician award winning Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and many more yet to be announced.
This year has been a challenge for everybody and so a host of the biggest stars are coming together to spread much needed Christmas cheer and raise valuable funds for Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, a charity that is important to every single artist involved. As they perform classic Christmas carols, share their holiday messages and bring some festive surprises along the way, viewers at home are encouraged to enjoy their own Christmas celebrations and most importantly, are invited to donate at any point during the virtual concert.
All proceeds will go to Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, the UK’s largest independent music therapy charity, who are dedicated to enriching the lives of people affected by life limiting illness, isolation or disability through music.
Nile Rodgers says,
“Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy is a charity close to my heart as I’ve witnessed the power of music firsthand. I’ve seen how music connects with people all over the world in a way that nothing else can so when I heard that Nordoff Robbins were taking their annual carol service online, I jumped at the chance to host the event and to bring along some of my closest musical friends to help spread some Christmas cheer.
I know how hard this year has been for everyone, in particular charities. Because of the pandemic, Nordoff Robbins are expecting to lose much of their fundraising income. This means they are able to help less people, including children with autism who rely on music therapy for a sense of connection or those affected by life-limiting illnesses or disability – even though their services are needed now more than ever.
Join me on Tuesday 15 December at 7pm from the comfort of your own homes for a merry singalong and lots festive fun as The Stars Come Out To Sing At Christmas – to help raise vital funds for Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy.”
Sir Cliff Richard adds:
“I’m so excited to be performing on the Nordoff Robbins carol service this year – please join me on Tuesday 15 December for some Christmas cheer and help to raise vital funds for Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy.”
The appearances will come from across the globe – including the stars’ homes, the famous Abbey Road Studios and in keeping with the traditional service from previous years, the choir will be filmed from St Luke’s Church in Chelsea.
This year’s incredible line up would not be possible without the hard work of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund and its CEO and Founder Merck Mercuriadis, who along with co-founder Nile Rodgers have worked tirelessly to rally many of the artists together for the special Christmas concert.
Sandra Schembri, CEO of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, said:
“What a wonderful event this year’s carol service is going to be. We are so thankful to everyone who is making this event reality – our funding partner, Hipgnosis Songs Fund, streaming partners LSEG and OpenExchange, as well as all the artists who are involved, you are helping to put on a magical evening of Christmas carols.
This year Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy has been hit really hard. Our fundraising (pre-pandemic) has always been about bringing people together to celebrate the power of music. But we have simply not been able to do this in 2020.
Now we are expecting to lose around 75% of our fundraising income, contributing to a loss of income of almost £6million. This means we will be able to help less people with the power of music – even though our services are needed now more than ever.
However, it’s events like this, with the support of our partners, artists and everyone watching at home, that will help us continue to meet the needs of people with music as and where we can – whether online or face to face.
I hope everyone joins in for a wonderful night and celebrates the power of music with us.”
Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy is delighted to have SSE Energy Services Ltd as partner for the event, as well as Scala Radio as their media partner for a second year running, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited as a funding partner and Modern English Digital as digital partner.
The event will be available to watch on Tuesday 15th December at 7pm GMT via carols.nordoff-robbins.org.uk
Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy is the largest independent music therapy charity in the UK, dedicated to enriching the lives of people affected by life limiting illness, isolation or disability. We receive no direct government funding, which means we rely on the generosity of our supporters.
Our music therapists are expertly trained to tune into each movement, reaction and expression of the individuals they work with to discover how music can enrich their lives. This could be to unlock memories, to communicate where words have failed, to socially connect with family and friends, and to build confidence and self-esteem.
We provide a range of different sessions for children and adults of all ages in our centres in London, Manchester, Newcastle and Scotland – from specialised one-to-one music therapy to shared sessions for groups of different sizes and formats.
We also work in partnerships across the UK to bring music therapy to as many vulnerable people who could benefit from it as possible. These include schools, care homes, hospices, hospitals, mental health services, and brain injury units.
Find out more about Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy here.
About London Stock Exchange / Open Exchange:
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) is a global financial markets infrastructure business. Its diversified global business provides valuable services for a wide range of customers focusing on Information Services, Post Trade and Capital Markets. The Group supports global financial stability and sustainable economic growth by enabling businesses and economies to fund innovation, manage risk and create jobs.
Issuer Services Spark is a digital platform from London Stock Exchange which enables its clients and partners to distribute a range of digital and thought leadership content. Open Exchange is a content technology firm that aggregates and distributes financial and other content to a wide range of market participants. London Stock Exchange and Open Exchange are proud to be supporting Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy in the digitisation of this year’s Christmas concert.
About Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited:
Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which was founded by Merck Mercuriadis, is a Guernsey registered investment company established to offer investors a pure-play exposure to songs and associated musical intellectual property rights. The Company has raised a total of over £1.05 billion (gross equity capital) through its Initial Public Offering on 11 July 2018, and subsequent issues in April 2019, August 2019, October 2019, July 2020 and September 2020. In September 2019, Hipgnosis transferred its entire issued share capital to the Premium listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and to the London Stock Exchange’s Premium segment of the Main Market, and in March 2020, became a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
About SSE Energy Services Ltd:
SSE Energy Services (SSE’s GB domestic retail business, and formerly part of the SSE Group) became part of the OVO family in January 2020. The OVO family includes energy suppliers Boost, Spark Energy, and flagship brand OVO Energy, as well as home services brand CORGI HomePlan. OVO Energy is the UK’s leading independent energy supplier, with a mission to bring clean, affordable energy to all.
Together SSE and OVO supply energy to almost five million households across the UK, as well as offering other home services including heating and boiler cover and phone and broadband. OVO (S) Electricity Limited is an official sponsor of The SSE Arena, Wembley and The SSE Hydro, Glasgow.
