Meet the team

Ben Buddy Slack

Founder & Creative Director

Ben is an award winning songwriter and community musician. He has released albums as a solo artist, with his band (The Blind Dead McJones Band) and as a duo with Siobhan Donnelly. His community music work has involved delivering songwriting workshops and courses in a variety of community settings, mental health facilities and prisons. He was inspired to start The Swan Song Project after losing his Grandma and regretting not recording her singing with him.

Email: Ben@swansongproject.co.uk

Gemma Cross

Fundraising Manager

Gemma has extensive experience in the charity sector and has successfully worked in fundraising roles at national and local charities often with a health/end of life care focus. She has always had a keen interest in The Swan Song Project. This was fuelled further by witnessing a gentleman perform his Swan Song in a hospice setting. In her spare time Gemma is an avid supporter of the local music scene.

Email: Gemmacross@swansongproject.co.uk

Affiliate Artists

Sam Hodgson / Samh

Sam teaches songwriting at the University of Huddersfield and works freelance as a musician and events organiser. He plays in a three piece acoustic jazz band, a big prog-rock band and collaborates with a hip-hop artist and a DJ. Most of his musical experience however is focussed around British/Irish/American folk music.

samh.bandcamp.com

Lisa Marie Glover

Lisa is an experienced songwriter with several albums under her belt. She is an events musician and also plays concerts for Music in Hospitals and Care. She is a tutor at the Leeds based charity, Cloth Cat and also works at Music Inspirations in Chapel Town where she has been working on a song writing project with kids in lockdown. She is currently training as a counsellor and has a strong interest in music therapy. https://lisamarieglover.bandcamp.com/

Jess Baker / Kaninchen

Jess is a community musician based in Huddersfield. She runs community choirs and singing workshops, specialising in harmony singing for mental health and wellbeing. Jess performs in several bands and performs as a solo artist under the name Kaninchen using voice and loop pedal.

https://www.jess-sings.co.uk/

Ric Neale

“Ric has extensive experience as a songwriter and musical director. He has released several solo albums and worked on a range of shows. Two of Rics songs made the top ten of the UK Songwriting Contest in 2013 and he has lectured on songwriting for over ten years in the UK and overseas.” www.ricneale.com

Trustees

Email: trustees@swansongproject.co.uk

Adrian Sinclair

Adrian is co-director of community arts organisation Heads Together Productions, overseeing Chapel FM Arts Centre as well as running UNION: The Northern School for Creativity and Activism. He believes Swan Song is a perfect creative response to support people at the end of life, their friends and families.

Anthony Waddington

Anthony is the Project Director at Participate Projects, responsible for Social Venture support projects and employee volunteering across Leeds City Region. He has personal experience of the value of music at the end of life and believes everyone should have the opportunity to write their Swan Song.

Jeannie Lumb

Jeannie is a qualified social worker and a life-long fan of all kinds of music. From personal and professional experiences, she’s aware of how music touches peoples’ lives and their deaths, and believes that Swan Song is a great way to give and receive memories of a precious life.

Chris Martin

Chris is a singer-songwriter, guitarist who after working in various branches of manufacturing is now semi retired and enjoying life performing and recording regularly. He believes that SwanSong is the perfect way to offer a positive and creative avenue to people dealing with end of life and bereavement .

Interested in writing a song with us?

We are happy to support anyone living with a terminal illness, approaching end of life from other causes or dealing with a bereavement to write and record their own original song.

You can find out more information here or download the PDF below. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to have an informal chat about it.

Download

Latest Swan Song News

Dear Eddie Newell – A blog by Charlotte Newell

I was recommended to the Swan Song Project through my bereavement councillor at the start of December. Straight away I was incredibly interested to find out more so on the same day I sent an email and was lucky enough to have my first session with Ben the next day. My...