Classical Crossover concert to highlight the power of music therapy for veterans

NORTH WALES, Wales - Sept. 9, 2021 - PRLog -- An online classical crossover concert is taking place on Saturday 11th September at 9pm UK time as part of a campaign to raise the profile of the power of music therapy programme interventions for veterans still struggling to come to terms with the impact of war. The fundraising concert, which is being live-streamed across the globe, has been organised by Sound Radio 103.1's Sunday Classical Crossover show presenter Jannie Rawlinson. Jannie has been presenting the show for six years, originally on Wrexham's Calon FM and now on North Wales-based Sound Radio.
During that time the show has developed a global audience, including a strong following in the USA. It is as a result of this that Jannie has become involved with The Arizona Veterans Group, thanks to an initial connection with music therapy group member Gary Godwin. Gary was seeking out radio shows that would fit with the USA's Music Therapy Programme which has become a key part of wider veteran rehabilitation activities. Along with other veteran groups across the USA, the Arizona Veterans are benefiting from the Music Therapy Programmes which use music as a form of comfort and therapy. The programmes are designed to counter some of the lasting effects of war by supporting veterans' mental health and providing an intervention that contributes towards reducing the risk of suicide.  Longer term, it is hoped to roll out the programme across more US states and potentially extend it into the UK.
Amongst the classical crossover artists performing at the concert are Mary-Jess Leaverland, Amira Willighagen and Alexa Ray to name but a few. Royal Composer Olga Thomas has composed a track especially for the veterans and it will be exclusively premiered during the concert's finale. The concert will be filmed and live streamed by UK film company Eventfilming.com and will contain live link ups from Jannie in the UK, Gary Godwin in the USA and Holger Wemmer in Germany.  The show will also contain footage from veteran hospitals and UK veterans' stories of hope.
Jannie explains, "We're hoping to get as many veteran organisations watching this concert as possible. We now have The Royal British Legion on board with supporting this concert which is amazing and donations will be gratefully received on their website www.britishlegion.org.uk. It would be wonderful to have more UK vets watching it and even better if the UK could adopt the same rehabilitation Music Therapy programme. Many veterans suffer from PTSD, homelessness, blindness, deafness and all sorts of physical injuries yet they are still often overlooked by society."
The concert will be live-streamed worldwide via YouTube (https://youtu.be/AcMm1nyAeKg) and will be shared to all of ClassicalXOver4U's social media platforms on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/XoverRadioCalon), Twitter (https://twitter.com/ClassicalXOvr4U) (@ClassicalXOvr4U) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/classicalxover4u/).