Heartbeat: The Sound of Music rings through City Hospital

January 15, 2019

If you wander down to the postgraduate centre at City Hospital on a Sunday afternoon, you’ll hear the calming sounds of an orchestra filtering through the air.

Every two weeks, the Birmingham Gay Symphony Orchestra (BGSO) rehearse at the site and as a thank you to our organisation for the space, they fundraise for Your Trust Charity.

This year, they organised a retiring collection at their annual Christmas concert, held at St Paul’s Church, in the Jewellery Quarter, which was attended by Johnny Shah, Head of Your Trust Charity.

He was able to share the good work our organisation’s charity does for patients, visitors and colleagues.

Kat Galbraith, Chair of the BGSO and principle violinist said: “We have received a lot of support from Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust and to say thank you, we ensure that one of our concerts every year raises money for the charity, via a retiring collection.

“We invited members of the charity team to the event so that the audience would know more about how it benefits the local community and the good work that is done.”

She added: “The BGSO promotes musical talent directly from within the LGBT community, illuminating the diversity that exists within it to the wider community and beyond.

“As an LGBT orchestra it provides a safe ‘non-scene’ environment centred around a shared interest where people can come together to express who they are without any additional pressure or expectations. They welcome musicians of all abilities whether they identify as LGBT or not.

“We are actively recruiting violin and viola players to join our upper string section. It really is the more the merrier and there has never been a better time to join us.”

Now in their tenth season, they perform three concerts a year in venues around the city, including Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, as well as St Paul’s in the Jewellery Quarter where they are Orchestra in Residence.

Johnny added: “Your Trust Charity are extremely proud to serve one of the most diverse areas of the West Midlands where almost one in three children and older people live in poverty.

“Every penny the BGSO has raised from their annual concert will help us make a difference for a mother, father or child who we need to care for in our hospitals and community services this Christmas. We are so grateful to the BGSO for their ongoing support, which will help us enhance the experience of our patients, families, and carers.”