Annie played the piano at the age of 5, was church organist at 7, and is now a leading exponent of both the beautiful Celtic Harp, and her Gothic Golden Concert Harp. Annie is equally at home in Cathedrals, such as the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York, the largest Cathedral in the world, or the humblest of sitting rooms; the Way of Peace International Conference in Belfast with H.H.The Dalai Lama, or small isolated churches; the Royal Festival Hall, London or Tirril village hall, near her home! It is her family, the Cumbrian fells and her Celtic heritage which have most inspired her along her musical journey.
From small beginnings in Annie’s own sitting-room in 1992, Sunbeams was voted the Big Lottery Champion Charity of the North West Region and National runners up in 2007, and is a media partner with the BBC. Sunbeams now employs 10 professional multi-talented musicians, who deliver “Music For Life®” and “Music for Dignity®” in over 50 projects every month throughout Cumbria and in the Sunbeams Music Centre, near Penrith, for over 15,000 people with Special Needs every year. Sunbeams raised £2.5 million to provide this cutting edge Centre of Excellence in Cumbria for people of all ages with special needs.
In recognition of her work, and her vision, Annie was awarded the title ‘Cumbrian Woman of the Millennium Year 2000’, an MBE in the Queen’s Honours List, 2014 for her “Services to Community Music Therapy,” and an Honorary Fellow with the University of Cumbria in November 2023.
Annie writes: We have daily proof of the powerful effects of music upon the quality of life of our clients whether they be:
- The prisoners in HMP Durham where they saw music as a form of “legal escape!”
- The children with profound and complex health needs where just to be able to touch a harp string represents wonderful progress – however imperceptible.
- The frail elderly people with dementia who don’t know their own names but sing along to every song I sing with them. I remember meeting a lady called “Margaret” who was in a psychiatric ward and who was suffering from Alzheimer’s. She couldn’t even remember her own name and didn’t recognise her husband – in fact I passed her husband in the entrance weeping to himself because of this. But as soon as Margaret saw my harp she pushed me away (luckily!) and began to play Handel’s Harp Concerto! Everyone came running in to the ward and started crying when they saw what was happening. When Margaret finished she said, very poignantly, “I can’t remember why I know I can do that”. I gave her a Celtic Harp for the last 2 years of her life and we played together every week. Proof indeed of the “power of music to heal”.
Annie’s talk takes place at Threlkeld Village Hall on Wednesday 29th January at 7:30pm. Entry £3, pay on the door. Bar and Box Office from 7pm.