I have been singing at the bedside since 2023, when I trained as a Quietude practitioner and end-of-life companion

My name is Sally, and I have been singing at the bedside since 2023, when I trained as a Quietude Practitioner and end-of-life companion. I am also a member of the Heart of London Threshold Singers and Companion Voices.

Since then, I have been volunteering as a Companion with the charity Marie Curie.

The singing is not intended as performance but as a way of being alongside the person, just as they are.

Alongside this work, I continue to deepen my learning with experienced teachers in contemplative practice and end-of-life care. I was awarded a scholarship to train in Kirsten De Leo’s programme Authentic Presence, and I continue my studies with Therese Schroeder-Sheker, a pioneer of contemplative music in end-of-life care and founder of the Chalice of Repose Project.

I am also trained in the M Technique, a form of gentle structured touch used in palliative care.

When I am invited to the bedside, one of the first things I consider is how to arrive in a gentle and attentive way, listening to the feeling in the room and finding calm within myself, so that our time together can be rooted in that calm.

Those I have the privilege of being beside remind me that I cannot control what another person is experiencing. I can only be present as they are, and offer the voice gently, in whatever way seems most helpful.

A reference from Marie Curie is available on request.

Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about my experience.

The singing may be heard while awake or gently received in sleep.

Please press play to listen