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Fledglings 2026 – Training weekend 14th-16th FebFive members of our new cohort of RNCM Fledglings came together to write a piece for our newsletter this month: “Hello! We are the Songbirds UK Fledglings with the RNCM, and we’ve really enjoyed the last three days where we had introductory training and workshopped how to deliver music in a hospital setting. We’ve had great fun so far, and we each have a little to say about different parts of the process. On the Saturday we started the project with introductions and getting to know each other, starting off with a little percussion group improvisation to a tune played by Mark. We then split into groups and brainstormed ideas, making mind maps and planning what we might expect from a hospital setting and the challenges we could face. After lunch we stayed in our groups and learnt some of the core repertoire that we would use for our first performance in the RMCH atrium on Sunday, and performed our improvised renditions to each other, receiving constructive criticism and pointers from Ros and Mark. We started off Sunday revisiting the diagrams of the expectations of what bringing music into the hospital setting means to everyone involved. We then took the songs we had learned the day before, along with some well-known lullabies, in small groups and duos, and made them our own. Through improvisation, the use of precision, movement, individual solo moments, and harmonies we came back together to present our interpretation to the rest of the group, Mark, and Ros. We shared feedback and refined our techniques to deliver a truly thoughtful and collective performance for everyone involved, allowing us to grow in confidence and giving us new ideas of how to adapt the music to the needs of the audience. On the Sunday afternoon we explored more about what it practically looked like bringing music to the wards. One of the helpful preparations we did was through ‘role-playing’ in a hospital ward. Each of our duos took turns to deliver some music and create an interactive piece with the other students, who imitated patients and their families. This was a great way for us to picture what both the patients may be feeling — their parents and siblings — but also to think through what challenges could arise in that environment. For me, it helped massively to understand the variety of emotions and circumstances we may see and interact with, and how we can develop the music to reflect that best. It was fun to share our ideas with each other and picture the hospital before we arrived there on our third day of training. On Monday morning we arrived at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to put our weekend of training into practice. The hospital atrium was bustling with children, parents, doctors, nurses, cleaners — all sorts of people that are part of the holistic care provided in the hospital. Ros and Mark encouraged us to explore the space, so we took some time to wander the halls, get our bearings and begin to absorb the atmosphere of the environment. Our initial observations were that the large atrium space was already quite loud; even the smallest sounds echoed around the place — this would impact our music-making in the afternoon. We also saw the effort that had been made to make the hospital a home for children who are there long term — it was rewarding to think that our music could also help to make this environment warm and comforting. We received some important training from Helen, a health-play specialist at the hospital. She provides therapeutic play for the children with the aim to distract or gently educate them on the nature of their treatment. We will work with health-play specialists in our placements going forward, so it was wonderful to get a greater understanding of the nature of their work. The weekend of workshops culminated in a group performance in the atrium of RMCH. We truly felt that all the training exercises (no matter how strange they felt in the RNCM studios!) had prepared us well for interacting with passers-by, those who came to join us, and for playing together and bouncing off each other’s ideas. Seeing the positive effect our playing and rhythm instruments had on young children and their families was especially inspiring. We’re all excited for the next stage of the project — going into the wards in pairs — and can’t wait to keep developing our skills and to see where it takes us!” Izzy, Amber, Daisy, Sami and Adele
Below: Songbirds Fledglings training in progress
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