Melodic Caring Project joins forces with Chesterfield College and The Sherlocks to Stream Live Music to Children in Hospitals around the world.
Watch our MCP U.K. Launch Video Now!
rockSTAR Natasha at Sheffield Children’s Hospital
Patient/rockSTAR Natasha and nurses at Sheffield Children’s Hospital watch the inaugural MCP U.K. live-stream of The Sherlocks. They smile as Natasha’s name is called out from stage and hear the crowd cheer for her.
Live & Behind the Scenes : from the U.S to the U.K.
On Sept 30th 2016 nearly a year ago to the day, Chesterfield College Senior Marketing Officer, James Marples sent an email to Melodic Caring Project (MCP) Co-Founder, Levi Ware. The email was a simple request for help and guidance on the creation of an outreach program in the U.K. inspired by MCP. The program, Marples explained, would be run by the college and include students and staff from the university’s media and video production teams.
Rather than starting an entirely new program, Levi suggested MCP and Chesterfield College team up to create an official partnership allowing Chesterfield College to act as the first official MCP branch outside of its home base of Seattle, Washington. In doing so, it would allow the program to bring joy not only to kids in the U.K. but around the world allowing MCP to fulfill its vision to have multiple locations and cover every time zone for kids and families all over the world. Chesterfield College embraced the idea and before long, MCP was on the road to launching its first international branch—MCP UK!
Flash forward one year and many hours of cross Atlantic communication and planning…
September 23rd 2017 Sheffield, England. It was high energy night that turned magical as children in hospitals all around the world were named rockSTARS by local band, The Sherlocks, as they streamed their sold-out show LIVE from the O2 Academy in Sheffield to children and teens in the hospital for MCP’s inaugural U.K. Launch with Chesterfield College.
Media and Childhood Studies students from the college worked with Melodic Caring Project, The Sherlocks and Sheffield Children’s Hospital to shoot and stream the concert and help the children and teenagers being cared for at the hospital access and take part in the experience.
The Power of Music
For anyone there or watching online, the energy and excitement in the venue was contagious. The Sherlocks (supported by the Glass Caves and the Rosadocs) put on a phenomenal concert stirring the crowd into a frenzy with well crafted, high energy rock-n-roll songs that would have fit nicely on any stage in the world. During their sets each band gave a heartfelt shout-out to kids watching from their hospital rooms which in turn, was greeted with thunderous applause and frenetic enthusiasm by the young Sheffield crowd. At the venue, the crowd buzzed and cheered as The Sherlocks encouraged patients to keep battling, stay positive and know they’re not alone. In the hospitals the kids watched with “smiles on their faces, joyful tears in their eyes and hope in their hearts.”
One of the rockSTARS of the night, 6 year old Erin from Chester, who is in remission from a rare form of cancer, first experienced the Melodic Caring Project when she was in hospital in Seattle undergoing ground breaking treatment at the end of last year. Her mum Sarah Cross explained:
“Having the gig streamed live into our room was such a magical experience. It totally relaxed Erin…she said the music was soothing…she loved the messages to the rockSTARS and loved the fact that there were other children from the hospital listening too. Such an amazing thing! It was wonderful to get the chance to experience it again from our own home in the UK.”
The unique partnership with Chesterfield College has allowed MCP to kick-start its expansion into the United Kingdom and establish its services across Europe using the skills of the staff and students to broadcast to and make connections with young patients in hospitals at the same time as giving students the opportunity to develop their work experience on an exciting and meaningful project.
MCP is thrilled to have Chesterfield College along with its students and staff pioneering its first international branch to stream live performances to children and patients all around the world.
Work to establish links with other hospitals and hospices has already begun and discussions with other performing artists are currently underway.
About Chesterfield College
The Chesterfield College Group is a leading provider of further education, higher education, apprenticeships and professional training, with a national reputation for the quality of our provision and the high standards of customer service and support we offer. In total, the Chesterfield College Group has over 10,000 students and apprentices.
Chesterfield College is located near to the town centre of Chesterfield and attracts students from across Derbyshire and border regions with a national presence in apprenticeship delivery. The college is very much at the heart of the community it serves and provides a range of career pathways that aim to offer a route into education and training for everyone. The college works closely with local employers and researches labour marketing information and industry projections to ensure that the curriculum offered reflects the needs of the area and to ensure students develop real work experience as part of their learning.
About Melodic Caring Project
Unlike other complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) programs, the Melodic Caring Project (MCP) meets a real and pressing need with its innovative approach offering ease, accessibility and comfort to those suffering from serious illness or injury, especially those quarantined and/or suffering from immunodeficiency. MCP has streamed numerous live concerts to children in hospitals nationwide and several around the world since its founding in 2011, featuring top artists including The Roots, Alabama Shakes, Daughtry, Jason Mraz, The Black Eyed Peas, Rachel Platten, OK Go and many others.
Levi Ware and his wife Stephanie, created the Melodic Caring Project after a friend’s daughter, Kaydee Curbow, was diagnosed with cancer and unable to attend a concert that had been organized to help raise funds for her care.
“Rather than cancel the concert, I realized we could tap into an open wifi network at a coffee shop next door, stream it to Kaydee, and she could virtually attend the show. After the show, Kaydee and her mom were in tears and seeing how much it lifted their spirits, we thought how cool would it be to bring the healing power of music to other kids like Kaydee…and the Melodic Caring Project was born.”
For More Information Contact: [email protected]
The Melodic Caring Project is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit that bridges the gap between music, technology and patients battling serious illness by streaming live, personalized concerts to children and teens in the hospital. MCP embraces the medically proven healing properties of music to alleviate pain, reduce anxiety and aid in the overall wellness and wellbeing of the patient. (EIN: 45-3916610)
