Manchester musicians offered chance to train as music therapists

Sony Music UK are offering Manchester musicians the chance to train as music therapists at the UK’s largest independent music therapy charity.

Four bursaries are being offered across Manchester and Newcastle in 2021, which will cover the £10,000 cost of tuition fees for the two-year full-time Master of Music Therapy programme.  

Nordoff Robbins is the UK’s largest independent music therapy charity, training people to use their musical skills in a way that can enrich the lives of people experiencing a wide range of life situations, including life-limiting illness, isolation, disability, or social exclusion. 

The Master of Music Therapy (Nordoff Robbins): Music, Health, Society is an internationally renowned Masters level programme, validated by Goldsmiths, University of London.

Successful completion of this two-year course gives graduates the eligibility to apply to the Health and Care Professions Council for registration as a music therapist, the UK legal prerequisite for working in the profession.

The Sony Music UK bursaries, which cover the full cost of tuition fees, aim to remove barriers for those who would otherwise not have the resources or opportunity to complete a Masters level programme.

With musicians facing unprecedented difficulties during the pandemic, the Master of Music Therapy programme provides the opportunity to retrain and use their skills to make lasting, positive change to a wide range of people’s lives. 

“As a bassoon player and a singer, music has always been an important part of my life,” said Frances Thomson, a student on the Nordoff Robbins Master of Music Therapy programme.

“I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have found a vocation where I get to use music in such a meaningful way and meet so many inspirational people. 

“Working on a neuro rehab unit of a hospital last year, I didn’t expect to be blown away by the incredible scat-singing of a man whose brain injury meant that he was usually very disorientated and unmotivated.

“At my current placement in a care home, I didn’t expect to feel so invigorated after making music with elderly people with dementia, with whom it might be difficult or impossible to maintain a spoken conversation.

“It’s been amazing to see people thrive in music, and a privilege to make contact with the healthy, beautiful part of people that responds to it.”

Those interested in finding out more can attend the Nordoff Robbins online open evening via Zoom, 6pm – 8pm Thursday 14th January 2021. To apply for the September 2021 intake, applications must be submitted online by Monday 18th January. The Sony Music UK bursaries are only available in Manchester and Newcastle. More information can be found here.