Belinda Gannon

Belinda has always had a passion for music making for all – despite having no actual formal music qualifications, she has always enjoyed listening to and making music, she began her musical career way back, running a folk group throughout her teen years. She is a keen singer, self-‐taught guitarist and ukulele player and a rusty pianist!

 

Several years later, a career in publishing and journalism, getting married and having two (now very grown-‐up children), she reignited her love of music when she started up her own extremely successful business running early years music groups in her previous hometown of Kingston-‐upon-‐Thames alongside supporting children with speech and language difficulties in two local schools.

 

Belinda was then approached to become the early years music consultant for Hammersmith & Fulham, providing training for staff across over twenty schools in the Borough and also running music sessions in several of the schools. Fifteen years of music making with the under-‐fives was an amazing job but lead Belinda into wanting more – which is why, in 2012, she enrolled as a mature student at Goldsmith’s University, London to study for the highly recognized and renowned, Community Music Workshop skills certificate which she passed with flying colours at the end of summer 2014.  Over this time Belinda also qualified as a Lifemusic practitioner, this non-‐judgemental, inclusive method of creative music making can be used with a wide variety of community groups and its ‘everybody is musical’ belief fits firmly with her own.

 

Belinda and her husband moved to Selsey whilst completing the course at Goldsmiths, and as part of her finals. ran a four week pilot ‘music for health’ project, Resonate, in partnership with the local medical centre and The Selsey Community Watch forum. Evaluations of the project were extremely positive and her enthusiasm and knowledge of group music making has continued to provide a variety of ‘musical’  programmes to all residents, including singing for better breathing (having attended training at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London), music making for the non-‐musical, ‘forget me not’ singing and music groups for those suffering with dementia (and their families/carers)  and to be involved or assist with any other ideas surrounding community music and co-ordinating Shifting Shingle in June 2022. 

 

 Belinda is currently running three choirs in and around Selsey, including the long-running and popular Sing Your Heart Out, which now welcomes over 35 singers on a weekly basis.