MUSIC, PEOPLE & HUMAN FLOURISHING
HFoM is a registered charity (No. 1175716), committed to enriching lives through music, wellbeing, creativity and community engagement across Hertfordshire.
At the Hertfordshire Festival of Music, we believe that music is more than entertainment. Music can bring people together, stimulate curiosity, strengthen communities, support wellbeing and open new ways of understanding ourselves and the world around us.
This belief shapes everything we do. Alongside our concert programme, we support emerging artists, bring music into care settings, create accessible routes into live performance, commission new work and explore the wider significance of music in human life.
For us, these activities are not separate projects. They are different expressions of the same belief: that music has the power to enrich lives, deepen understanding and strengthen connections between people.
This work is central to HFoM’s charitable mission. Performance, wellbeing, learning, accessibility, artist development and community participation are interconnected parts of our holistic approach to music and human flourishing.
OUR APPROACH
“Our approach is holistic. We are interested not only in musical performance, but also in the relationship between music, wellbeing, learning, creativity, heritage, community and human flourishing.”
Everything we do begins with music. Yet we are equally interested in where music leads: towards connection, creativity, understanding, belonging and wellbeing.
Whether through a world-class recital, a care-home music session, a relaxed rehearsal, an artist-development project or a public conversation, we aim to create opportunities for people to engage more deeply with music and with one another.
IMPACT STATISTICS
55 — Music in Mind Sessions Delivered
795 — Participant Attendances
279 — Residents Reached in 2024
62% — Living with Dementia
MUSIC IN MIND: BRINGING CONNECTION THROUGH MUSIC
Since 2021: 55 sessions, 795 participant attendances and hundreds of moments of connection.
Since 2021, Music in Mind has brought specially trained professional musicians into care homes across Hertfordshire, creating shared musical experiences for people living with dementia, fellow residents, carers and families.
In 2024 alone, the programme reached 279 residents through 27 sessions, with 62% of participants living with dementia. Through singing, listening and shared musical experiences, these sessions help reduce isolation, encourage engagement and create opportunities for enjoyment, creativity and connection.
Our work is grounded in the conviction that every person retains the capacity to respond to music. Music in Mind seeks not only to enhance wellbeing, but also to affirm dignity, foster communication and create moments of genuine human connection.
“My day is all the better now you are here.” Resident participating in a Music in Mind session.
OPENING DOORS TO MUSICAL EXPERIENCE
HFoM believes that great music should be experienced by as many people as possible.
Through initiatives such as our Relaxed Rehearsals, we create welcoming musical environments for people who may find conventional concert settings challenging. These events offer alternative ways to experience live performance, encounter outstanding musicians and enjoy music in a supportive atmosphere.
Relaxed Rehearsals may particularly benefit people living with autism, ADHD, Parkinson’s and other conditions for whom the conventions of a traditional concert environment can present barriers to attendance and participation.
By reducing barriers and encouraging participation, we seek to ensure that musical excellence remains accessible, inclusive and relevant to diverse communities.
MUSIC, MIND & MEANING
Our interest in music extends beyond performance.
Through talks, discussions and public conversations, HFoM explores the relationship between music, memory, attention, creativity, wellbeing and what it means to flourish as human beings.
Recent projects have included a filmed conversation with Dr Iain McGilchrist, helping to bring wider audiences into discussion about the significance of music in human life and culture.
These events complement our practical work in the community by exploring the research, ideas and lived experiences that help us understand why music matters. We are interested not only in what music does, but also in why it has such a profound place in human life.
Our approach is holistic. We are interested in the relationship between music, wellbeing, learning, creativity, heritage, community and human flourishing, and in creating opportunities for people to engage with these ideas in meaningful and accessible ways.
SUPPORTING EMERGING ARTISTS
Music flourishes when talent is nurtured.
Through masterclasses, mentoring opportunities, professional performance experience and initiatives such as New Virtuosi, HFoM supports emerging musicians as they develop their artistic careers.
These practical opportunities enable emerging musicians to gain experience, develop their artistic practice, build professional relationships and take important steps towards sustainable careers in music.
Many artists who have appeared at HFoM during the early stages of their careers have gone on to establish significant professional reputations. We believe that investing in the next generation of performers, composers and creative thinkers is essential to the future health of musical life.
By bringing young artists into contact with established performers, audiences and communities, we help create pathways that support artistic development while enriching the cultural life of Hertfordshire.
MUSIC, PLACE & HERITAGE
HFoM is rooted in Hertfordshire.
We are increasingly developing projects that connect music with the county’s stories, landscapes, churches, buildings and communities. Through heritage projects, walks, talks and creative collaborations, we seek to explore how music can deepen our understanding of place and strengthen connections between people and the environments they inhabit.
Projects such as A Ring of Bells and other place-based initiatives bring together music, history and local knowledge, encouraging audiences to see familiar places with fresh eyes and ears.
We believe that culture is strongest when it grows from the particular character of the places and communities it serves.
NEW MUSIC & CREATIVE DISCOVERY
Music is a living art form.
Alongside celebrating the great music of the past, HFoM supports contemporary creativity through commissions, premieres and artistic collaborations. We provide opportunities for audiences to encounter new work and for artists to explore new ideas.
We see creativity not as something separate from tradition, but as part of an ongoing conversation between past, present and future. Through new music, we encourage curiosity, imagination and discovery.
WHY WE DO IT
Music can delight, challenge, comfort and inspire. It can connect us with one another, with our communities and with ourselves. It can illuminate our history, enrich our present experience and help us imagine the future.
Everything we do at the Hertfordshire Festival of Music begins with music. But we are equally interested in where music leads: towards learning, memory, creativity, belonging, wellbeing and a richer understanding of what it means to be human.