A very special collaboration with Songbound, an outreach initiative that brings the transformative power of music to some of India’s poorest and most marginalised children.

Founded by Joe Walters in 2012, Songbound sets up and sustains children’s choirs that rehearse weekly, in a safe environment, in preparation for exciting performance events throughout the year.

In February 2014 Hannah travelled to Mumbai to lead a project involving over a hundred children living in under-privileged and the slum communities in the city. A project ‘Dream Catcher’ grew organically from day to day – a beautiful narrative was born and with it, new songs and music written by the children. The films below were made by Claudia Lee.

Since 2012, Songbound has built up a network of 17 choirs (15 in Mumbai and 2 in Bangalore), impacting the lives of over 600 children. Local choir leaders from a wide variety of Indian and Western musical backgrounds receive training from international vocal experts who, in collaboration with some of the world’s leading musicians, help the children to grow in confidence, feel valued and work towards long-term goals.

Hannah led professional development training for local choir leaders in both Mumbai and Bangalore in 2014 and is committed to working with Songbound and a continued relationship with the groups in India.

Images from Dream Catcher 2014