Pete Townshend And Roger Daltrey To Perform At Nordoff Robbins Carol Service

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will perform an acoustic set to lead the annual carol service held by Nordoff Robbins, the UK’s largest music therapy charity.

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The event will, as ever, feature traditional Christmas carols, further star performances, and festive readings from a range of celebrities. It will take place at 7pm on Tuesday, December 13 at St Luke’s Church, Chelsea.

The Who have a long history of supporting the charity, dating back to 1976, when they won Nordoff Robbins’ first-ever Silver Clef Award. They won another in 2005, when the award ceremony reached its 30th anniversary. Since 1976, the Silver Clef Awards have raised close to £12 million for Nordoff Robbins and celebrated some of the biggest names in music.

The carol service, sponsored by Hipgnosis Songs, will raise further funding for the charity, helping it to continue to break down barriers through the power of music, creating space for some of the UK’s most vulnerable people to express themselves and find connection in society. Townshend and Daltrey are the latest in a succession of global stars who have performed at the event, including Sir Rod Stewart, Nile Rodgers, and Robbie Williams.

Further artists, including classical musicians and rising names, will be added to the line-up for the 2022 evening. Tickets are priced at £55 and are available from nordoff-robbins.org.uk/carols. Donations will be encouraged throughout the evening, and the ticket price includes mince pies and mulled wine. A number of Nordoff Robbins’ music therapists will also perform outside the church to further entertain the audience and raise additional funds.

The charity’s trained music therapists work with children and adults with extreme life challenges, including injuries, disabilities and terminal illness. Last year, its music therapists reached 8,713 individuals and held 35,500 therapy sessions. Nordoff Robbins also provided music therapy at 318 partner organizations including schools, care homes, and hospices.

‘Music is our shared language’

Says Daltrey: “What Nordoff Robbins does with music makes such a positive change to people’s lives – which is why we’re supporting them at this very special Christmas service. Music is our shared language and is incredibly powerful, and music therapy can reconnect people who may otherwise feel isolated or disconnected from the world – whether a young person with autism, a person living with dementia, or somebody rebuilding their lives after an accident.”

Nordoff Robbins CEO Sandra Schembri observes: “Music and the festive season go hand in hand, and here at Nordoff Robbins, people and music are at the heart of everything we do. Thanks to the money raised through this wonderful annual concert, we can deliver music therapy to more clients across the UK, including some of the most vulnerable people in society.

“We believe that music is a superpower. Imagine if music was the only way you were able to communicate. Now imagine a world with no music – it’s unthinkable. Music can offer people true inclusion and belonging, and access to it must be a human right. That’s why we’re so thankful to The Who, their manager Bill Curbishley and all the artists involved, and to our sponsor, Merck Mercuriadis and Hipgnosis Songs, who are helping us to celebrate the festive season with an incredible opportunity to join such a shining line up of stars in a spectacular setting.”

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