The Gloucestershire Piano Trust provides classical music concerts in schools and prisons.

By introducing classical music to schoolchildren and prisoners, many of whom have never witnessed live music before, we aim to inspire, broaden horizons, and enhance listeners’ appreciation of the value of live music. In prisons in particular, these concerts foster a sense of community and are of significant benefit to listeners’ mental health. We also support the development of talented young pianists in Gloucestershire by means of mentoring and masterclasses, the commissioning of new music, and the recording of music by little-known composers. The Trust works with established classical musicians and music educators, especially renowned local pianist Clare Hammond.

Building on Clare’s pre-existing community work, we aim to arrange 30-35 concerts each year at primary schools, in collaboration with Gloucestershire Music, and 10 concerts at prisons across the South-West. This work reaches over 3,000 children and 300 prisoners annually.

Typically, in each concert, Clare performs a series of short pieces, recounting the stories behind the music and what the composers were going through at the time. Clare started giving prison concerts after suffering from postnatal depression and often discusses mental illness with prisoners in post-concert Q&A sessions. By relating the challenges composers faced in their own lives, and performing the astonishing music they created, Clare shows how music can inspire, console and heal.