Elizabeth’s journey

I aim to inspire, empower and support patients on their recovery journey, optimising the quality of their lives through the effective medium of music.

I come from a performing arts background having worked with avant-garde circus and theatre companies across Italy, Germany and France. I qualified with the equivalent of a Masters degree in Music Therapy from the University of Montpellier in the South of France.

I left England in the 90’s and 'ran away with a circus' to the Emilia Romagna region of Northern Italy, here I was initiated into the art of sculpture, metalwork, welding, pyrotechnics and street performance.

My passion for circus led me to study circus skills; aerial and ground techniques in particular 'the art of the clown' with the late Michel Dallaire, (Cirque du Soleil) at Hangar des Mines in Southern France. 

I worked for several shows and cabarets before taking my clown and musical skills into children's hospitals in Paris and Marseille with the French ‘therapeutic clown company’; Le Rire Medecin.

Here, I became aware of the impact of music on health. The small musical performances seemed to transform the clinical hospital room (and everyone in it) into a calmer space with joy and vibrancy. This was admittedly an “intangible feeling’, I was unable to measure or quantify the difference that the musical intervention had made, but it left me intrigued.

In 2009 I decided to set up my own interactive, musical project; 'Vivavoix' for the children’s wards at Montpellier Hospital, funded by the French Arts Council. Again, I witnessed the benefits of music on paedriatric patients in a hospital environment. This motivated me to return to university, train and gain clinical experience at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in USA, later qualifying to pursue a career in music therapy.

I aim to inspire, empower and support patients on their recovery journey, optimising the quality of their lives through the effective medium of music.

Encouraging individuals to discover their inner music and to sing their own song …