By Lottie Parsons | Marketing and PR
Dear Friends,
We have plenty of exciting updates to share from across World Heart Beat, along with many opportunities for you to join us — from concerts and behind-the-scenes moments to spending time with our talented young musicians.
First off, we have launched our new website, and we hope you love it as much as we do. Do take a look at www.worldheartbeat.org.
We held our Winter Warmer event on Wednesday 25 February at Kimber Road. This informal drinks reception brought together our friends, supporters and World Heart Beat family with wonderful music from our young musicians, the perfect antidote to the winter blues. If you’d like to join us for our next one, just let us know via our website.
We are hugely grateful for the generosity of our supporters; we had great success with our World Heart Beat Christmas Gift campaign and our Season of the Song Supper which raised money in support of our work with young people.
If you are already a member, or are thinking of becoming one, I am delighted to share that membership is now available by Direct Debit, starting from just £3 a month. Regular giving provides vital continuity for our work with disadvantaged young people and offers a closer connection to the life of the academy.
Finally, we are delighted to see our Founder and Artistic Director, Sahana Gero MBE, receive a Wandsworth Civic Award recognising her outstanding contribution to culture and community in the borough.
What’s On: Spring Concert Season
World Heart Beat Embassy Gardens continues to thrive as a vibrant cultural hub and boutique concert hall in Nine Elms. This spring’s programme spans blues, jazz, classical, Indian classical and Persian music, all within our warm and welcoming cafe bar space.
Piano in the Elms Festival: This March 2026, Nine Elms will once again be transformed by music as the International Piano in the Elms Festival returns. Curated by World Heart Beat, the festival celebrates resilience, creativity and community through the universal language of the piano.
Alongside six concerts by world-renowned international pianists, the festival includes a free piano trail through Nine Elms, masterclasses, free Tuesday evening cafe concerts and a children’s concert. Inspired by the elm tree, the enduring emblem of Nine Elms, the festival reflects the spirit of connection and place at the heart of World Heart Beat.
Festival highlights include: Kamilla Arku and Jordan Soderberg (Thursday 12 March) Andrei Gologan (Friday 13 March) Julian Joseph, Nine Elms Suite with String Orchestra (Saturday 14 March) Cristiana Achim (Thursday 19 March) Cyrill Ibrahim, A Journey of Chopin’s Heart (Friday 20 March) Nefeli Mousoura (Saturday 21 March).
Supporters can enjoy 15 percent off any Piano in the Elms concert using the code PIANO at checkout, (excluding Julian Joseph’s concert).
Browse and book at www.worldheartbeat.org/whats-on
Recent Highlights
Our partnership with the National Opera Studio continued with advanced vocal coaching sessions led by Shakira Tsindos, supporting students to develop higher level technique and performance skills.
Our First Beats autumn concert introduced primary school children to the life and music of Evelyn Dove, the pioneering Black British singer and composer from Wandsworth. Through live performance, historic digital content and local heritage stories, children connected deeply with her legacy and arrived full of curiosity and questions.
In November, the EFG London Jazz Festival returned to World Heart Beat Embassy Gardens, with fourteen events across nine days. We were proud to host performances by Julian Joseph, Tony Kofi, Denys Baptiste, Jasper Hoiby, Rebecca Nash, Sara Colman and rising star Danny Piers, alongside free cafe performances that welcomed new audiences into our space.
December closed the year on a high with our Christmas Community Concert, featuring heartwarming carols and a joyful performance from our young musicians, as well as a seasonal concert with Julian Joseph.
Spotlight on Success
Jas Kayser, headlined her Jas and Chums concert in January following an international tour with Lenny Kravitz
Sebastian Rodriguez, secured a place at Trinity Laban Conservatoire
Leah Wing premiered new music as part of our Operation Forest concert
Danny Piers headlined his own show during the EFG London Jazz Festival at Embassy Gardens
Jaidon Regis is musical directing Sienna Spiro and the upcoming Visitor Tour ‘26
Thank you, as always, for being part of the World Heart Beat community. Your support makes all of this possible.
Best wishes, World Heart Beat
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
