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About us

About Nordoff and Robbins

We are the UK’s largest music therapy charity

Our mission

We use music to enrich people’s lives

We deliver music therapy to a range of clients across the UK, including some of the most vulnerable people in society. We meet the growing need for music therapy by training music therapists and ensuring that their skills
are not only maintained but developed. We research music-making and its potential to inform how we can support our clients and people in challenging situations.

With one hand on their chest, a person passionately sings during music therapy at Headway, a Nordoff and Robbins partner organisation.

I was just lying there in bed, thinking all the worst things. And to have the music therapy was like a shining light in my life.

Tim, music therapy client

In 2023, our music therapy services continued to reach thousands of people up and down the country…

389

partnership organisations worked with

13,776

people reached with music therapy

49,129

music therapy sessions held

What makes us different?

Delivery, training and research

At Nordoff and Robbins, our approach to music therapy has been honed across more than six decades of practice. We’re unique in the breadth and ambition of our activities. As well as delivering music therapy to clients all around the country, we train and develop the music therapists of the future, and fund research to measure and improve the impact of our work.

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Our history

Sixty years of innovation


1959

American composer and pianist Paul Nordoff and British special education teacher Clive Robbins begin exploring the potential of collaborative music-making to engage vulnerable and isolated children at Sunfield Children’s Home in Stourbridge, where Robbins works.

1960s

Animated by the impact of their work, the pair spend several years travelling around Europe and the United States, researching, publishing, teaching and running pilot projects that prove the effectiveness of their interventions and allow them to refine their techniques.

1974

After returning to the UK, the founders create the first Nordoff and Robbins training programme, giving them the opportunity to fully define their methods and begin passing on their skills to a new generation of music therapists.

1976

Nordoff and Robbins is established as a charity and a fundraising team is formed to support its activities. Our first Silver Clef Awards lunch takes place, honouring artists while raising funds for the new charity. The inaugural winners are The Who, the presenter is Twiggy!

1977

Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins lay out in detail the tenets of their method in a book, Creative Music Therapy. Revised and republished in 2007, it remains a core text for music therapy students.

1990

Paul McCartney, Genesis, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, Elton John and Robert Plant and Jimmy Page take to the stage for a charity concert at Knebworth. Nordoff and Robbins uses the proceeds to help fund the development of a new music therapy centre in Kentish Town, North London.

1995-1996

Nordoff and Robbins creates its Master of Music Therapy programme, extending the charity’s commitment to training the therapists of the future. The first of our annual carol concerts is held and the inaugural Legends of Football and Legends of Rugby fundraising events take place.

2001-2015

We significantly extend access to music therapy by launching outreach services in partnership with health, education, arts and social care organisations. In 2009, we open our Andrew Lloyd Webber Music Therapy Unit in Croydon, followed in 2015 by a unit at the Royal Albert Hall.

2018

Nordoff and Robbins England and Scotland merge into a single UK charity, giving us an opportunity to pool our expertise to form a comprehensive nationwide approach. We now deliver services from 13 centres around the country and work in partnership with over 211 organisations.

2022

The O2 Silver Clef Awards return for the first time since 2019. The ceremony includes a live auction for George Michael’s personal Bechstein piano, with the successful bid providing a £200,000 donation to Nordoff and Robbins.

During music therapy at one of our partner schools, a smiling young client smiles performs at a microphone

Music is in our DNA

We believe that music is a human right

We’ve all felt music’s potency, how it unlocks feelings and memories and brings us together. It’s a universal language, a mode of communication. Imagine if music alone gave you the power to communicate. Then imagine a life without music. For some of our clients this is their reality. We work to ensure that everyone who could benefit from music therapy does.

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Our approach

The pioneering Nordoff Robbins approach

The Nordoff Robbins approach is based on the power of musical participation. By giving them a platform to improvise, write new tunes or play old favourites, our therapists help people unlock their own creativity and capacity for connection. The success of the approach depends upon the therapists’ skill in seeing each person as an individual and tuning in to their unique responses.

Read about our approach

Our people and culture

Across the UK, Nordoff and Robbins employs around 140 people whose dedication and passion for our mission makes this a special organisation to be part of. At the heart of our culture is a strong commitment to equity, diversity, inclusivity and belonging. We meet each other as equals, an ethos that extends to our relationships with clients and partners.

Meet our people

Together, a young client and music therapist cheerfully play the piano together at one of Nordoff and Robbins' partner organisations.

Careers at Nordoff and Robbins

Nordoff and Robbins is an organisation with people and music at its heart. If you’re interested in developing your career in a dynamic, nurturing environment, there are plenty of opportunities to work with us in a wide range of roles, from fundraising and events to research and education.

The music industry’s charity of choice

No one understands the power of music better than musicians. As a result, we’re fortunate to have the support of many incredible artists, from every generation and genre, who supercharge the profile of our work and lend their talents to our fundraising campaigns. We also benefit from the generosity of people in every part of the industry, from labels to instrument makers to venues.

Find out more

Becky Hill sits in one of our music therapy rooms on a visit to our Nordoff and Robbins London Centre.

Help us enrich lives with music

To make all this happen, we’re reliant upon the generosity of people like you. We receive no government funding, so the transformative work we do is built upon fundraising, donations and volunteering.