2024 In Review.
By CEO, David Jones |
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Distilling a year into a couple of paragraphs is always hard, however for this year in particular it feels really tricky. We have pushed ahead on a number of fronts. Our commitment to preventing people entering the criminal justice system has born fruit with us entering another setting in the Midlands. We have also trialled working with groups of young people who are on the edge of permanent exclusion from secondary schools in Bristol. Both of these initiatives are giving us encouragement that working preventatively is an effective use of our time and resources. At the other end of the system we have won two Probation contracts to work with people after release from prison. This new work will drastically increase the numbers of people we work with back in the community. It will also see us return to working HMP Featherstone which we have not worked in since before the Pandemic.
Our prison-based work continues to deepens with us increasing our provision in 3 prisons in the last year. Unfortunately, we also saw our work in HMP Dartmoor come to an end when the prison temporarily closed. We hope to return should the prison re-open in the future. We also began working in our third Secure Children’s Home work which we are particularly proud of. Young People in these establishments are amongst some of the most vulnerable and traumatised in our society.
We have finished the year with three high profile concerts; two run by ourselves and the third sharing the stage with other great creative organisations supporting High Sheriff Richard Pendlebury MBE in his annual fundraiser. Our concerts are often the highpoint in our year showcasing the talent of our participants and raising awareness of our work with new audiences. If you didn’t make it to one this year do make a note to attend in 2025!
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Winter Listening - This quarters top picks are picked by some of our amazing female musicians-in-residence based all over the country. |
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Moon Music by Coldplay. Picked by Livvy
I love the whole album as a piece, the transitions between songs are so creative. The album is like a warm hug and I love listening to it on the commute home!
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Empathogen by Willow. Picked by Tilly
I have been listening to it all year round. I've chosen this one because the songs are beautifully constructed, mixing jazz elements with a strong vocal mix, along side some indie pop. My favourite song off the album is probably 'The Fear is Not Real'. It just such a good song. Very reflective lyrics as well.
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New York - Addis - London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965 - 1975’ by Mulatu Astatke. Picked by Shelly.
I've chosen this album because as a singer, I listen to lots of my favourite voices most often. However, because of that it’s almost impulsive that I can’t always rest and resist the urge to sing along at the top of my voice. When I’ve been singing the whole week and need a rest I always put on instrumental music; so I thought I’d share one of my favourite instrumental albums. This album is great for me in stressful times because it’s easy to listen to, laid-back, repetitive, cathartic and it feels really uplifting. It ends in a piece called ‘Tezeta’ which in Ethiopian is translated as ‘nostalgia’ and it makes the whole thing feel sentimental and warm.
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Join Us in Building Hope: Change Lives with Your Support |
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The urgency of our work cannot be overstated. Our prisons are full. The justice system is struggling to reduce reoffending rates. Behind these statistics are real people — adults and young people — many of whom carry the weight of trauma and face deep-seated disadvantages, such as abuse, poverty, learning disabilities, and unstable home environments. Mental health issues are pervasive, and rates of self-harm in prisons, including the youth estate, have reached alarming levels. Earlier this year, the CEO of the Prison Reform Trust described prisons as “places of hopelessness and despair.”
Amid this stark reality, Changing Tunes offers something transformative: hope. Through our rehabilitative music work, participants rediscover their humanity, uncover hidden talents, set and achieve meaningful goals, and learn to build healthy relationships. Music becomes a tool for self-regulation, resilience, purpose and meaning. We don’t just provide a service; we are committed for the long term, standing by participants as they grow and rebuild their lives.
Our impact is clear. Former participants have become facilitators, joined our Board of Trustees, and gained professional development opportunities on our record label. Their journeys embody the transformative power of our work.
One participant shared this feedback recently:
“I got that human element from Changing Tunes, that yes, we were in a bad place, but we could be better and we could move on and change. And that’s something that was huge in jail, to be valued, for being a human being. For me that’s everything.
By working with Changing Tunes I've managed to write music, aim high and achieve. I've learnt that I don't need to pick up a drink or a drug, I can pick up my music books and it gives me that feeling of what was missing in my life: self-worth and hope. And it's continued since my release.
Each time I come to Changing Tunes we are going up another rung of that ladder. It’s making me into a person, a person who understands how she feels, can think clearly, can get places and can get to somebody that I trust. It’s really important. One thing I do know - I would be back in jail if it wasn’t for Changing Tunes.”
This is the heart of what we do: fostering hope, enabling change, and helping people rebuild their lives.
And so, in spite of the challenges that our participants face, in spite of the crisis in our prisons, there is hope.
And you can be part of our work to build hope and improve lives through the power of music.
By donating to Changing Tunes you can make a positive difference - to our work, to our participants and to our communities.
You can donate one-off, or set up a regular donation (which you can stop at any time). There are also other ways to make a difference, such as considering leaving a legacy in your will.
You can donate to Changing Tunes securely through our website, by clicking on this link: https://www.changingtunes.org.uk/donate
If you would like to talk to us about making a donation, or about leaving a legacy in your will, then please contact us on info a_t changingtunes d_o_t org d_o_t uk . Our Fundraising Manager, Rea, will get in touch with you.
And if you already donate to Changing Tunes, or have supported us in the past, thank you. You are a special part of our community and we value you.
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From everyone here at Changing Tunes. Thank you for your support, we wish you all a very, Merry Christmas and we look forward to a hopeful and musical 2025.
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