Prime Minister awards outstanding Hebden Bridge group founder

Emma Baylin set up Shared Harmonies in 2013, providing classes and workshops to bring people together in the shared act of singing to boost their health and well-being.

This year, in light of the pandemic, Emma established the Our Song initiative, encouraging people to create and record a song together. Over 300 people of all ages took part, including 60 residents, staff and family members from two care homes in Saltburn and Kent.

In a personal letter to Emma, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I was so uplifted to hear of the success of Shared Harmonies and how you have brought the joy of singing to people across the UK.

“You have used your gift for music to bring people together virtually at a time when we are not able to meet in person.”

Reacting to the Prime Minister’s announcement, Emma said: “Receiving this award is a real honour. The last few months have been tough but I was determined to find ways to keep connecting people and create a sense of community. Over 25 years’ experience working in communities has shown me the importance of this work and given me the tools and resilience to face challenging times.

“I originally founded Shared Harmonies seven years ago, a social enterprise with the aim of improving confidence, communication and well-being through inspirational singing.

“We pride ourselves on creating situations in which people can flourish and we have continued to do this throughout the pandemic.

“Evidence tells that when we come together through music and singing, we make a real difference to people’s well-being and sense of belonging. Our experience and participant feedback demonstrate this to be true.

"The project we are most proud of during these difficult times is “Our Song’, a brand new piece of music co-created with over 300 community members from ages 3-92 from across the country.

“I would not have been able to get to this point without all the amazing people in my life, so my thanks and love go to my partner and family, my incredible team, Jenny Cook, Holly Marland, Ali Bullivent, Jackie Craig, Rosa Sargent, Teresa Lipinski, Tess Parker and John Sargent, our directors, funders, supporters and all the truly remarkable people that join in our services.

“This award is a wonderful recognition of all our efforts in 2020 and as we look ahead to 2021, we are excited to expand our community singing and workplace well-being services to transform even more lives.”

Emma is the 1,556th person to receive the Prime Minister’s UK daily Points of Light award.