Alex is a guitarist and singer who performs music to patients across Salisbury District Hospital and the community hospitals of Wimborne and Sherborne. Alex plays a mix of jazz and pop music from 30’s-60’s. Outside of his work with the Elevate programme Alex also performs professionally and teaches the guitar and ukulele in the local North Dorset area.

View videos made by Alex for ‘Elevate artists at home’ below and on our YouTube channel.

David is a Written and Spoken Word Arts for Health Facilitator. His background is in community development, education and training and feature making for BBC Radio.

David’s work focuses on participants’ personal interests and life experience using poetry reading and writing and visual art alongside objects, artworks and photographs. He aims to enable participants to gain confidence, skills and social connections and to significantly improve their mental health and independence.

David currently devises and leads residencies and creative sessions with people with a range of acute and long-term health conditions (mainly mental health conditions, spinal injury, brain injury, stroke and memory loss) in community and healthcare settings. This includes hospitals, GP surgeries, museums, art venues, and residential care. He is also commissioned in arts and health research and development, and to enable primary care patients to form self-running creative well-being groups.

Sarah is a pianist who plays a wonderful range of music from Bach and Mozart to Bob Dylan. She can relax you with gentle musical impressions or rouse your spirits with a sing-along number. She also takes requests.

Rosie is a clarinettist and has been with Elevate since 2010. Rosie has a keen interest in the role that music can play in Dementia care and is currently completing a PhD in Medical Sociology exploring acute hospital ward environments for patients with Dementia and the link between live music and lower agitation levels. Rosie has worked in arts and health for over 12 years managing hospital music programmes and performing for patients across the Southwest.

Rosie is also the Director of Musica Music and Wellbeing CIC which is a social enterprise supporting the Dementia journey through music. For more information visit www.musica-music.co.uk

Karen Wimhurst is a freelance composer, clarinettist, choral conductor and educator. She has worked both creating and performing music with all ages, from mothers and babies to senior citizens.

For Elevate and hospital settings, Karen focusses on a light jazz repertoire, encouraging people to sing along as well as improvising on the clarinet.

Karen has been commissioned by numerous festivals, ensembles and theatre companies throughout the UK. Recent works in a diverse portfolio include the theatre piece ‘w_RAP’, written as composer in residence with MoDiP; ‘Get Up and Tie Your Fingers’ (about women and herring fishing in Eyemouth); ‘Freedom, Bread and Peace’, multi-media music theatre exploring the rise and fall of communism for Bournemouth Festival by the Sea); Heartwood, a processional work celebrating the ash trees of Britain; and Miriam, a chamber opera for Electric Voice Theatre exploring the life of entomologist Miriam Rothschild.

Her recently released album Clarion, with accordionist Paul Hutchinson is featured in Songlines Top of the World CD 2016. Other recent albums include Timepiece with the jazz quartet ‘Misbehavin’. Visit Karen’s website: www.karenwimhurst.co.uk

Stephanie is a theatre maker and will lift your spirits with pictures, music and all sorts to unlock your imagination and the stories of your life.

View videos made by Stephanie for ‘Elevate artists at home’ below.