Tinderbox at Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children

Over the past few months we ran a residency programme in collaboration with ECHC for the first time where Rhys worked with young people in the hospital to create a piece of music for the Tinderbox Orchestra. The piece was created through music workshops in the hospital’s ‘Jess Mackie Music Garden’. The final piece titled ‘Seeds of Sound’ was performed in the hospital on the 4th of December and was said to have been one of the best attended events in the hospital this year! 
 
Photo - Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity

Rhys & Kieran jamming at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh.

Photo – Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity

One of the great things about having a weekly workshop in RHCYP is that we have the opportunity to work with young people throughout their stay. Rhys met Kieran when he was 16 years old and he had never written a song before. Kieran was in for a long stay, which ended up being around 6 months, on and off, and had his guitar with him for the duration. Through the weekly workshops and lessons, he quickly started to write songs and perform for the nurses who visited him. Fast forward to now, a year later, Kieran has continued to partake in Tinderbox workshops, has written an album’s worth of material, performed 2 of his songs live with the Tinderbox Orchestra and performed at 4 concerts. 

Photo - Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity

Kieran & Rhys performing at the Edinburgh Children's Hospitals Charity's All Wrapped up Event at the Central Hall, Edinburgh.

Photo – Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity

“Meeting Rhys was a breath of fresh air. I had my guitar in the hospital and when Rhys came in with his, we immediately started jamming. Rhys taught me a few new songs and gave me some good advice about writing my own music. I played my guitar more than ever during my hospital stays, sometimes for more than 6 hours a day so my technique improved at a fast pace!” – Kieran

We would like to say a huge thank you to our hospitals team Rhys, Claire, Shea, and Jamie for the wonderful work they do with the children & young people there, and to Edinburgh Children’s Hospitals Charity for having us as part of their Arts Programme all year.