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Nordoff and Robbins Music Therapy and LW Theatres announce new partnership

Nordoff and Robbins, the UK’s largest music therapy charity, and LW Theatres have today announced a new partnership, running until 2028.

Uniting performance with purpose in support of Nordoff and Robbins’ life-changing music therapy services, LW Theatres has committed to raising awareness of the charity in front of audiences across its globally renowned theatre portfolio, including The London Palladium, His Majesty’s Theatre and Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Fundraising initiatives outlined in the partnership include point-of-sale donation prompts, QR code signage at shows, and dedicated messaging in programmes and on screens. In addition, 18 LW Theatres colleagues will be taking part in the 2026 Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise money for the charity.

Money raised through the partnership will go towards helping Nordoff and Robbins train the music therapists of the future, which costs the charity £19,000 per music therapist over two years.

The partnership’s impact aims to go beyond fundraising, with LW Theatres also providing accessible theatre experiences to Nordoff and Robbins clients to see hit West End musicals including Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre.

Nordoff and Robbins is the UK’s largest music therapy charity, with a unique approach shaped by more than 60 years of practice. Nordoff and Robbins’ trained music therapists use music to break through the barriers caused by life-limiting illness, disability and social isolation. Its work can be transformative, from an adult with dementia reconnecting with family, to an autistic child finding their voice.

In 2025, Nordoff and Robbins supported 15,500 people through 48,000 music therapy sessions, partnering with over 300 organisations including schools, hospitals and care homes nationwide.

Jules Arnott, Co-CEO, LW Theatres, said: “I’ve seen first‑hand the extraordinary impact Nordoff and Robbins has through music therapy and it’s a privilege for LW Theatres to support their work. Music sits at the heart of what we do every day, so extending this partnership across our theatres, to our audiences and to our 900‑strong team, feels both natural and deeply meaningful. We’re incredibly proud to stand alongside such an inspiring charity and support their truly transformative work.”

Sandy Trappitt, Director of Fundraising, Nordoff and Robbins, said: “This powerful partnership with LW Theatres comes at a critical time for Nordoff and Robbins. We could nearly fill all of their theatres twice over with the people we supported with music therapy in the last year alone, but the demand for music therapy is increasing rapidly, and so are the costs of running our services. We are working hard to train future music therapists and make sure high-quality music therapy is a key part of health and social care services, so we’re incredibly grateful to LW Theatres for this much-needed support and opportunity to be seen by new audiences.”

In 2011, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation donated £250,000 to Nordoff and Robbins, which was used to help maintain a music therapy centre at the BRIT School in Croydon. In honour of the donation, the centre was renamed the ‘Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Unit’.

Nordoff and Robbins

Nordoff and Robbins is the UK’s largest music therapy charity, with a unique approach shaped by more than 60 years of practice. Through the power of music, it breaks through the barriers caused by life-limiting illness, disability and social isolation. The charity does this through providing music therapy to people across the UK, whilst also training the music therapists of the future and funding research to measure and improve the impact of its work.

Music therapy is the act of supporting people to connect and communicate through music who otherwise are unable to; such as those living with dementia to autism, learning difficulties to brain injuries, life-limiting illnesses to mental health issues, grief and trauma. Nordoff and Robbins music therapists use the power of music to create space for people to express themselves and find connection in society.

Nordoff and Robbins has specialist centres in London (Croydon and Kentish Town), Dunfermline, Glasgow and Newcastle that provide one-to-one and group sessions for children and adults, alongside providing sessions in various settings including schools, hospitals, care homes and more. Its music therapy training is validated by Goldsmiths, University of London, and is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

From adults with dementia reconnecting with their family, to autistic children finding their voice, Nordoff and Robbins believes that everyone who needs it should have access to music therapy, because it can, quite simply, transform people’s lives.

About LW Theatres

LW Theatres owns and operates six of the most prestigious theatres in the world, including the iconic London Palladium and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Wholly owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, one in three of all visits to a London musical is at an LW Theatres venue.

LW Theatres is the venue of choice for some of the world’s best musicals and plays, as well as a variety of star-studded concerts, spoken word and comedy events. The portfolio also includes His Majesty’s Theatre, home of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera for 39 years in London, the Cambridge Theatre, the Gillian Lynne Theatre, and the Adelphi Theatre (co-owned with Nederlander International Limited).

All profits from LW Theatres are proudly reinvested into the theatres for their ongoing conservation and development.  More than £100m has been put back into this business since 2006.

For more information visit www.lwtheatres.co.uk.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation

Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation was set up by Andrew in 1992 to promote the arts, culture and heritage for the public benefit; since inception Andrew has been the principal provider of funding for all its charitable activities.

The Foundation’s grant giving programme has now awarded grants of £26.6 million to support high quality training and personal development as well as other projects that make a real difference to enrich the quality of life both for individuals and within local communities.

Significant grants include: