On 18 July, we were delighted to celebrate BAPAM’s 40th anniversary with a special event at the . Friends and partners from across the performing arts, academic and medical community came together to celebrate four decades of providing performers with the clinical help necessary to maintain and thrive in their careers.

Speeches from our Chair Peter Leathem OBE, our CEO Claire Cordeaux, Ģ��tv Trustee Dr Penny Wright, and the RCM’s Professor Aaron Williamon, took us through the history of BAPAM, our impact now and our mission for the future.

Dr Penny Wright spoke movingly about BAPAM’s history and described BAPAM’s founding in 1984 by Ian James. Ian was a Consultant Physician and clinical pharmacologist at the Royal Free hospital, and an accomplished viola player. His experience of treating his own performance nerves led to a special interest in the medical problems of musicians and performing artists, and he started to collect around him colleagues with a similar interest. Their vision from the beginning was for doctors and other clinicians to work with educators, researchers, and performers themselves, to build a comprehensive clinical service for performers of all types.����

Penny reminded us of the hours of unpaid, dedicated work to establish and grow the organisation. We thank the many people whose expertise and dedication has enabled BAPAM to become what it is today, including Penny herself, whose 35 years of service with BAPAM are an extraordinary commitment. We wish her well as she takes a well-earned rest! We remembered those no longer with us, among them Kit Wynn-Parry, Ian James, Mike Shipley, Ian Winspur and Carol Chapman.

We are also hugely grateful to all our funders, large and small. Our work is only possible thanks to Help Musicians, Music Minds Matter, the Musicians’ Union, Equity, PRS Members Fund, the Royal Society of Musicians, Equity Charitable Trust, the Dance Professionals Fund, PPL and to all those who have donated funding over the years. Many of our partner organisations have been there from the early days and we wouldn’t have been able to build the service we provide today without them.����

Since BAPAM was founded, we have grown to serve the whole performing arts sector, from music to theatre, from frontline performers to backstage staff.��

We were proud to be co-chairing the at UCL, held this year for the first time outside the USA, and we welcomed delegates��who joined our celebration, which coincided with the first day of the conference.��Building��on��years of clinical practice, BAPAM developed our first Performing Arts Medicine syllabus in the early 2000s, which was used to plan the training days for clinicians that we organised twice a year, and which eventually fed into the development of the Masters’ degree in PAM at UCL, still the only qualification of its kind in the world. Co-chairing a major international medical conference in our landmark 40th anniversary year felt like an important milestone in our ongoing work training health professionals and��establishing��clinical standards in performing arts medicine.

Speeches concluded, , joined by Francesca Gilbert on the viola and Alexander Rolton on the cello, treated us to performances of Brahms and Mozart to remind us of the power of music and why it is so important to help performers continue to pursue their passion as their livelihood.����

A great deal has been achieved in the last 40 years, and BAPAM CEO, Claire Cordeaux, had spoken earlier about our hopes for the next 40 years. Our goal is to ensure every performing arts worker in the UK has access to a clinical health service tailored to their unique needs. By building on the collective dedication in evidence at our anniversary��event, and working together, we can achieve this. ��

To this collaboration, BAPAM brings clinical expertise and standards of best practice, our community of Ģ��tv practitioners, high quality training for performance and��health professionals, a wealth of clinical data that can contribute to the research and evidence base, and 40 years’ experience helping thousands of people overcome health problems to achieve and sustain creative excellence. ��

Feedback from the event has been warm and positive and��it is wonderful to see BAPAM’s clinical expertise and unique services recognised throughout the creative sector.����

Many thanks to PPL, Penny Wright and the Centre of Performance Science who sponsored the event which also raised nearly £3000 in donations.��

If you would like to support BAPAM and help sustain a healthy performing arts community, you can give a donation here: . Thank you to all of our supporters!

Sheila Atim MBE is a renowned actor and musician, who was nominated for the 2023 BAFTA Rising Star Award and is a recipient of two Olivier Awards, as well as the Chopard Trophy for emerging actors presented at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Recognised as a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2021 and one of Variety’s ’10 Brits to Watch’ in 2020, she also appeared on Forbes’ ’30 Under 30′ list the same year. Sheila is a trustee at The Old Vic Theatre and has an impressive portfolio of work in film, television and theatre.

Johnny Marriott, lead singer of PET NEEDS, has toured the world extensively with the band, who recently achieved a Top 20 UK album with their third record, Intermittent Fast Living. A proponent for improved health in music, his lyrics often reflect the physical and mental health impact of a creative lifestyle and he writes openly about his experiences in his blog, Nobody Ever Warned Us.

Claire Cordeaux, CEO of BAPAM, commented: “For an organisation that has supported thousands of UK performing artists over the last 40 years, it is a joy for BAPAM to welcome these new patrons who believe in our mission. Sheila and Johnny, both exceptional talents in acting and music, will add incredible value to the efforts of our existing patrons and partners. They will amplify our message that supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of artists and professionals is essential in building a healthy and sustainable creative sector, and will help us to reach new communities who are yet to learn about the vital work we do. The announcement comes at such an exciting time for the charity, as we co-chair the Performing Arts Medicine Association’s first ever symposium in the UK, bringing together our global community of researchers, clinicians and performers to advance the emerging and increasingly-important specialism of performing arts medicine.”

Sheila Atim MBE said: “BAPAM does wonderful work supporting artists and it is an honour to be joining the organisation to support it as a patron. I used its services many years ago and, ever since, I have placed health as a fundamental priority for a fulfilling career with longevity. As artists, we dedicate so much of ourselves to what we do, sometimes at the expense of wellbeing. BAPAM’s work has helped to encourage a shift in this culture, fortifying an enduring community of happier and healthier artists. I look forward to the next 40 years of this uplifting charity.”

Johnny Marriott added: “As a touring musician in the rock scene, I have experienced both physical and mental illness. We are lucky to work in a creative industry, but it is also a challenging existence for a multitude of reasons. BAPAM’s mission to support the health and wellbeing of people in the performing arts is essential work and I am proud to be a patron of the charity.”

Earlier this year, BAPAM’s data revealed that in 2023 musculoskeletal injuries were the predominant health concern among performing arts professionals, accounting for over 40% of all medical consultations it delivered, followed by mental health issues (32%) and vocal health problems (15%).

Celebrating our 40th anniversary in 2024, BAPAM will co-chair PAMA’s 42nd international performance arts medicine symposium in London in July

We are thrilled to be��co-chairing the in London from 18-21 July. The symposium will be hosted by the Department of Performing Arts Medicine of the Faculty of Ģ��tv Sciences at University College London (UCL), and co-chaired by Dr Hara Trouli, Associate Professor of Performing Arts Medicine at UCL, Claire Cordeaux, CEO of BAPAM and Dr Steven Sims, Otolaryngologist and Director of the Chicago Institute for Voice Care (CIVC).

This unique symposium is the world’s largest event focused on performing arts health and is organised every year by PAMA USA. This year it will take place outside of the USA for the first time, bringing together over 350 performers, researchers, academics and medical Ģ��tvs from 21 countries.

Entitled Come Together: Putting Research into Practice for Performing Arts Medicine across our International Community, this year’s event will offer a platform to share new research and best practice in performing arts medicine and drive forward the advancement of treatment for Ģ��tv injuries and conditions. It will also provide education, networking and collaboration for professionals spanning various disciplines, from dentistry and orthopaedics to psychology.

With more applications received than ever before, this year’s programme comprises more than 110 presentations, 27 workshops and numerous panel discussions addressing a range of topics, including mental, musculoskeletal, vocal and hearing health, covering musicians, dancers, actors, musical theatre and circus performers. Highlights include an exclusive interview with the Grammy award-winning Scottish percussionist and BAPAM Patron Dame Evelyn Glennie CH OBE and a keynote presentation by the Chief Ģ��tv Officer of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Dr Pamela Hymel.

This year’s PAMA symposium received an unprecedented level of demand from researchers and academics, all of whom dedicate their time to understanding the Ģ��tv nature of performers’ injuries and illnesses to drive positive change in medical practices. It’s only through further education, networking and collaboration that we can prevent and solve the nuanced problems that arise as a performer, and we look forward to learning from each other, sharing best practice and paving the way for a healthier future for the performing arts Hara Trouli, Course Lead, Performing Arts Medicine MSc., UCL

Registration is open now: