Prison Concerts

Over the past year, we have arranged 6 prison concerts across the South West reaching 150 prisoners and 34 prison staff. The concerts provide an oasis of calm and sustained concentration, with one prisoner stating that it was the “only hour in four years in prison where I have felt any joy… where I have felt human again”. These events are of great benefit to prisoners' mental health, build a sense of community, and broaden horizons.

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.

Responses from prisons

"The best day I have had in Prison in four years. I have mental health problems and Clare Hammond's performance lifted my spirits massively. Music and art feed the soul."

"To witness such beauty in this environment was something I will never forget. It reminds you how certain human experiences cross all boundaries - even prison walls."

"I am schizophrenic and that is the calmest I've felt in 12 years."

"[The concert] is about both appreciating that people outside the prison care about us and helps me respect people."

"I saw those lads come in at the back and thought "Woah - we're in for some trouble now" but they were so interested in it. One of them moved forward specifically to see your hands more clearly!"

"That was the most beautiful moment, the most beautiful day I have ever had in prison."

"Afterwards, talking with the audience, there's a mixture of contentment, excitement and bemusement that they have been part of such a wonderful thing in such a sorrowful place."

Read articles on Clare's prison concerts by Jailhouse Moose, Cotswold Life and the Classical Music Magazine.