Companion Voices

Singing for the end of life

Companion Voices are singers who gather to learn songs and prepare themselves to sing for people at the end of life

There are currently local groups around the UK in Brighton, Bristol, Frome, Hertfordshire, Hereford, London, Nottingham, Oxford, Scarborough and Bingley (West Yorkshire) as well as the Midlands (Heart of England group)

The Heart of England group has been running since 2019 and is currently full

If you’d like to call on us to sing at a bedside please contact us at: heartofengland@companionvoices.org

Our service is free of charge

We can normally respond within 24 hours, bringing 2 or 3 singers to your loved one’s bedside at home, in hospital, hospice or care home

Our repertoire is a mix of simple songs, chosen for their gentle sounds, whether in English or in other languages

We sing for people – and we are ourselves people – of all faiths and none

Companions are not performers, and when we sing we do it in the spirit of wishing our listeners well, for their comfort and well being

The aim is to create the kind of sound that friends and family might create as they sing for someone they love who is dying. This tradition isn’t widespread in our culture at this time but it is so very valuable and it’s our vision to give everyone who’d like it access to it