Prison Concerts

Clare regularly performs in prisons across the UK, recounting stories behind the pieces and what the composers were going through at the time. By relating the challenges they faced, and by drawing on her own experiences, she shows how music can inspire, console and heal.

Clare has been performing at prisons since 2018 and regularly visits 12 prisons across the Midlands and South West. In each concert, she performs a series of short pieces and often discusses mental illness with prisoners in post-concert Q&A sessions. Read Jailhouse Moose's article describing a recital at HMP Erlestoke, Clare's own account of her postnatal depression and prison performances, and an article in the Classical Music Magazine.

In 2024, Clare founded the Gloucestershire Piano Trust to support her ongoing work in schools and prisons. Clare is grateful to Changing Tunes for their support and encouragement.

Feedback

"That was the only hour in four years in prison where I have felt any joy… where I have felt human again."

"To witness such beauty in this environment was something I will never forget. It reminds you how certain human experiences cross all boundaries - even prison walls."

"[The concert] is about both appreciating that people outside the prison care about us and helps me respect people."

"Fantastic! Would never have expected to have the opportunity to attend something like this in prison, and thoroughly grateful for the experience".

"The best day I have had in Prison in four years. I have mental health problems and Clare Hammond's performance lifted my spirits massively. Music and art feed the soul."

"Afterwards, talking with the audience, there's a mixture of contentment, excitement and bemusement that they have been part of such a wonderful thing in such a sorrowful place."