Meet David - The music therapist using the power of music to connect with people living with dementia

David Robinson is a man whose love for music is apparent to everyone.

Whether performing with one of the many groups he belongs to, expressing himself as a solo artist, or talking with boundless enthusiasm about the joy that music can bring, his passion for music and everything it entails is worn clearly on his sleeve.

And yet the fundamental nature of David’s work isn’t performing sellout gigs or travelling the country as a regular musician. His workspace isn’t the recording studio or concert hall – its Heathlands Village, along with numerous other locations across the UK’s northwest.

As a Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapist, David’s primary aim is to connect with people through the power of music. The largest music therapy charity in the UK, the organisation’s objective is to investigate and benefit from the impact that music therapy can have for those affected by life-limiting illness, isolation, or disability.

David’s impact on the lives of residents at Heathlands Village is almost beyond description. His ability to connect with individuals who no longer respond to conversation or conventional interaction can at times defy belief, and the joyous moments he creates through the transcendental nature of music truly represents the best of humanity.

And it doesn’t end with those who require music to connect to others: some of our best-loved and most widely-shared posts on social media – our Heathlands Choir, our residents’ Chanukah Zoom shows during Covid, and many more – are the results of David’s limitless energy and talent.

As a relative of one our residents remarked: “If Carlsberg did music therapists, it would be David.”

A very humble individual, a man who shies away from the credit of his work behind the beauty and power of music, David’s hour with Humans of The Fed is astonishing.