Let us tell you a story….
In 1862 the Norfolk Mental Hospitals medical superintendent formed an orchestra of hospital staff and patients. They played regularly, often specially scored pieces, until it was disbanded some time in the 1930s.
When the old St Andrews Hospital was being cleared out, a pile of music was rescued from a skip, and found its way into the hands of
David Juritz a professional musician and lead violinist of the
London Mozart Players.
He in turn found his way to the
Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust – successors to that old asylum.
Psychotherapist Tracy Morefield, herself a keen singer took up the challenge and developed a series of workshops, bringing together services users, carers and staff to promote well being and social inclusion through singing.
Under the direction of voice coach Chrissy Parsons West the workshops have gone from strength to strength. They create an informal atmosphere where participants come together as equals, growing in confidence and experiencing a real sense of achievement as they make music together.
In 2006 workshop members finally met David Juritz when they came together as part of a Radio 4 programme telling the history of the “Asylum Band”
Later that year the project won the Eli Lilly Award for “reintegration in mental health” and in February 2007 was one of the four finalists for the national Health and Social Care Awards.
The weekly workshops attract up to 50 people, with a real sense of togetherness – by singing barriers are broken down, staff and service users work together, often seeing each other in a new light, supporting one another over that high note, or complicated rhythm.
It is a real example of combating stigma, and everyone is proud of what they achieve – and we make a great sound too!
On May 14th 2007, we were invited to sing at the prestigious
Norfolk and Norwich Festival, along with Chrissy’s well known and respected community choir “Hearts and Voices”, and with David Juritz and the London Mozart Players.
As well as singing some of the original music and a few of our favourites we worked withwith renowned composer
Fraser Trainer who works with such prestigious names at the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and English National Opera. Along with him we developed a piece "Spring" That fromed part of the concert.
When David Juritz first made contact with Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Partnership his challenge was to form a tribute band to those long departed patients, nurses and medical superintendent.
This concert was just that – but also a celebration of how far mental health services have come in those years.