From a very young age I got a thrill from anything to do with singing and movement, it didn’t matter what, I loved to move my body and use my voice… I just couldn’t stop!   It quickly became a passion and a vocation, yet I’d always felt drawn to being around babies and children too. The fire for performance was burning most brightly when I was 18 and so I moved from Liverpool to London to seek my fortune!

With a degree in contemporary dance and a Post Grad in Professional Performance under my belt I had many exciting experiences as a performer including Fame the Musical, Caburlesque, Working as a body double/stand in for Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Parts 1 & 2) 

Working as a nanny and music teacher in between auditions gave me the insight into how music can support families and my joy in nurturing mothers and babies in particular.  After gaining a CACHE Level 3 Diploma I worked as a Family Support Worker on the Neo Natal unit at Homerton Hospital in East London among other NHS roles.   

I trained as a Singing Mamas Choir Leader in 2017 and have found a new vocation; bringing song into peoples’ hearts and homes!  With this certification, and the rest of my skills, I moved back home to Liverpool in 2018 and set up Holistic Harmonies. 

One of my passions is to work with people of all ages, bringing about human to human connections using music and dance.  We’ve created a 6 week Intergenerational Music & Movement programme and our vision is to roll it out across care homes in Liverpool.

I have amalgamated all of my experience into this business and personally, I am trying to build a working life that includes all of my skills and passions and is fulfilling, creative, gives me autonomy and freedom, and is hopefully benefitting the lives of the families I work with.

I am a Northern girl with a passion for the performing arts. I moved to Liverpool in 2004 as an 18 year old with a dream to make arts accessible for all. I graduated with a first class degree from Liverpool Hope in 2007 and finished my Masters in 2010. I’ve always been involved with community based theatre companies and have worked in the community engagement team at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres for 10 years now. Some of my greatest memories include: 

• Supporting 200 people from marginalised communities to parade the streets of the city in reopening the Everyman in 2014

• Developing performances with adults accessing mental health services to perform in and around the Playhouse celebrating World Mental Health Day  

• Creating a showcase alongside Young Dada Fest celebrating young D/deaf and disabled young people from across the city region on the Everyman stage

• Programming and delivering creative residencies with young people through youth offending teams annually

 
Every Christmas I become Fairy Sparkles and visit community organisations for festive fun. It is my favourite time of the year. I am also a freelance project manager and facilitator and work with various organisations. 
 
I have a 3 year old little boy and we became involved with Holistic Harmonies when he was 4 months old joining the South Liverpool Singing Mamas Choir choir. Even though I had sung standing on tables in pubs and clubs from a young age, the unofficial opening act for my dad’s classic rock band, and I carried on to join all the am-dram societies in my small town, since moving to Liverpool singing was something I didn’t have the confidence to do in public. Being a part of Rachel’s sessions and sharing songs with my son changed everything for me. I was honoured to become a member of the board in 2020, I am so excited for the prospects of this young company.

I left the Emerald Isle in 2005 to pursue my studies in Physiotherapy in London and have never left England nor lost my strong Donegal accent!! I completed my undergraduate studies and foundation clinical training across a range of hospitals and community settings in London until 2016, we moved to Liverpool as we wanted more space, and to be closer to our families.  After rotating around in various clinical settings, I quickly realised I loved working with older people, particularly people living with dementia, in their communities.
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People often think of physiotherapists as the person who runs onto a pitch when a footballer has fallen over – we do, but we do so much more. I have experience working with children, adolescence, adults and older adults with a wide range of conditions that affect their health and well-being. In my experience, it can be difficult for these individuals to participate in and remain motivated in exercises or activities that are beneficial to their health.
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These challenges have made me seek out less conventional opportunities to deliver physiotherapy in the community. In 2018, I was lucky enough to become the lead physiotherapist for the Music Makes Us Move project, which is a “physiotherapy through dance” initiative for people living with dementia (managed by The Brain Charity, Funded by Quilter Cheviot).  Working with community dance practitioners and using the creative arts within healthcare was eye-opening, heart-warming and incredibly successful in enhancing the health, physical and emotional well-being of people living with dementia.
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I joined the Singing Mamas community in 2018 with my 5 month old daughter. It was an opportunity to meet like-minded women, share the journey of parenthood and use our voices to connect and uplift each other. The tea and cake afterwards was also a real draw!! I found singing so therapeutic and was entranced by Rachel’s ability to hold a safe, inviting and open space for people. I knew working with Rachel would only be joyous. We know that music transcends so many societal barriers, it improves quality of life, brings people to the here and now, allows connection through shared experiences and offers people a way of expressing themselves creatively beyond words. With this in mind, I was delighted to collaborate with Rachel in designing and delivering an Intergenerational Music and Movement project in a Liverpool nursing home with preschoolers, parents and nursing home residents. This was beneficial for all generations and we hope to get further funding to expand this programme across the region. 
 
I am a Team Leader for the Integrated Care and Reablement (ICRAS) Therapy team in Liverpool. I am part of NHS England’s Clinical Entrepreneurship Programme aiming to develop pathways that combine the creative arts and health for the well-being of older adults. I am a Mammy to a toddler, wife to a Sheffield Wednesday supporter and so excited to be a part of the executive board of Holistic Harmonies.

​I have worked in the creative and cultural sector for over 20 years, with experience spanning international festivals, music venues, performing arts organisations and the entertainment industries. My career has focused on executive support, arts administration and project management, and I particularly enjoy working behind the scenes to support creative people and organisations to achieve their ambitions.

I currently work at Aardman Animations, the internationally renowned British animation studio behind family favourites including Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run. I am the Executive Assistant to the Managing Director & Executive Board, as well as providing executive support to Aardman Co-Founder and Creative Director, Sir Peter Lord. This builds on many years of experience supporting senior leaders, Boards and Trustees.

Earlier in my career I spent six years living and working overseas, supporting senior executives at the Sydney Opera House and the New Zealand Government, having started my career with London-based digital arts organisation onedotzero.

As Rachel’s sister, I have supported Holistic Harmonies from the beginning and have seen the organisation grow and develop its work using music, movement and song to bring people together and promote wellbeing. I am passionate about the power of creativity and community and the positive impact this can have across generations.

As a Director, I bring my experience of the creative sector, executive leadership support and governance to the Board, helping to guide the continued growth and development of Holistic Harmonies.

I have been working in Safeguarding,  Welfare and Pastoral roles for the last eight years. In my current role I’m a Safeguarding Advisor, providing safeguarding advice to a network of designated safeguarding leads, for an international charity that supports veterans and their families. I support the organisation from a strategic and governance perspective, policy writing, designing and delivering training and developing a positive safeguarding culture. 

I am incredibly passionate about person and family centred Safeguarding and Welfare and have recently completed my PG Cert in Safeguarding Adults. 

A key research interest of mine is Safeguarding and it’s role in the prevention of suicide and how the two intertwine. I am also passionate about preventing violence against women and girls (VAWG) and in particular Safeguarding older victims who are experiencing domestic abuse who often are ‘unseen’. 

Throughout my working career, I have supported a vast range of people, including but not limited to those experiencing domestic abuse, people experiencing homelessness, individuals who have experienced complex trauma and families without recourse to public funds. 

I have previously supported Recovery Through Arts projects and completed community outreach work supporting people who have addictions. I am an active ally in the LGBTQIA+ and VAWG space. Some of my greatest achievers include:

- Gaining a distinction in my recent PG Cert in Safeguarding and being asked to present findings of my research in self neglect. 
- Achieving Rebecca Little Outstanding Achievement Award for my academic work in my BA (hons) for my dissertation in the inclusivity of people with disabilities in the industry. 
- Playing a key role in recruiting individuals to the recovery through arts project and attending the opening to see the sculptures at St George’s Hall. 
- Arranging a thank you event for D-Day veterans attended by the Major of Liverpool which resulted in BBC news coverage.

I found singing mamas and holistic harmonies whilst on my second maternity leave. I actually misread the the leaflet and thought it was baby signing, so you can imagine my shock when the singing begun! I sang a lot whilst growing up and have always had a key interest in music, I played the guitar from a young age and sang in bands too. I had however, lost my confidence after having a baby and always vowed I’d never sing in public again! My confidence grew over the weeks at Singing Mamas, I loved the safe space Rachel had created and engaging with likeminded people. I loved the endorphins singing gave me each week and felt it really helped me connect with myself again and my baby. Singing mamas changed my maternity leave, I’ve got friends for life and I’ve reconnected with a part of myself that had been missing for some time. I knew I had to get involved!