RPO showcases music by parents with experience of the criminal justice system

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is set to share the results of its collaboration with criminal justice and music charity the Irene Taylor Trust (ITT) tomorrow (23 May 2.30pm) at Bethnal Green’s Rich Mix arts hub. The Lullaby Project Showcase will present music created by parents with experience of the criminal justice system in collaboration with musicians from the RPO.

The Lullaby project is a collaboration between the RPO’s Resound engagement team and ITT’s Sounding Out programme. Friday’s concert will feature songs written by parents with experience of the criminal justice system for their children with the aim of ‘expressing their love, hopes, and dreams for the children and young people in their lives’ and ‘strengthening family bonds and provide a source of comfort’. These new lullabies will be performed by musicians from the RPO. Tickets for either the public performance or the livestream are free and can be booked here.

ITT artistic director Sara Lee said: ‘The Lullaby Project has a particularly special impact in helping marginalised people to re/connect with their children through songwriting, introducing people to classical music who may not have engaged with it before. The show on Friday will give parents with experience of the criminal justice system the chance to perform alongside professional musicians, with their families in the audience. To make it accessible, there's no cost to attend, a livestream is available and there will be live BSL interpretation.’

Supported by Arts Council England, Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust, Cockayne Grants for the Arts and the Garrick Charitable Trust, the Lullaby Project was originally developed by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute to offer a safe space for parents to explore and express their emotions. ITT and RPO brought the project to London in 2017, expanding to Suffolk and Hull in 2020 and 2022, then to HMPs Hewell, Hull and Styal, as well as launching community projects with former prisoners in Reading and in London.