Abigayle Doe is an optician with a specialist understanding of performers' complex eyesight needs including visual fields and working distances, and reading notation while also focusing on the working environment and fellow performers. She is part of the team at Performing Arts Vision Care.
Alicia Johnson is a Specialist Teacher and SpLD (Specific Learning Differences) Assessor. She holds a Masters in Education (MEd) and has fifteen years' experience working in education with ten years working in Special Educational Needs (SEN). Alicia is skilled in assessing for dyslexia and works with students with traits of ADHD and developmental coordination disorder (DCD).
Alicia provides comprehensive reports detailing individuals' learning strengths and challenges. This includes recommendations for study and self-development. Alicia specialises in recommendations for musicians to enable them to better access their studies.
Anna Cooper is a Specialist Teacher Assessor providing Diagnostic Assessment for adults and Learning Support, with a particular focus on music and the performing arts. She assesses dyslexia and provides educational assessments for ADHD and dyspraxia, aiming to harness individual strengths through devising tailored strategies which address areas of challenge and assist individuals throughout their educational and workplace careers. These assessments can be used to support application for the DSA (disabled student allowance in Higher Education) as well as the Access to Work Scheme.
Anna works with musicians, actors, musical theatre performers, other professionals and adult students. She is a trained woodwind musician herself, a member of the British Dyslexia Association's Music Committee, and is also neurodivergent (dyslexia and ADHD). As a professional musician and educator, she has both a personal and professional understanding of the demands of the industry, but especially in relation to the experiences and needs of neurodivergent performing artists.
Dr Catherine Bevington is an experienced NHS Consultant Rheumatologist who sees patients including musicians and performers with musculoskeletal injuries and issues at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmonds. Patients in the local area can be referred to her by their NHS GP. She is used to working in multidisciplinary teams, liaising closely with physiotherapy, occupational therapy and other therapy colleagues. She is a keen choral singer and is a graduate of the Performing Arts Medicine postgraduate programme at UCL.
Dr Gulamali's patients include musicians, voiceover artists, actors and models, and a culture is in place that values the significance of their oral and dental health to their careers extending over many years. Dentures, tooth wear, dental implant complications, missing/failing teeth, injury/trauma. Brass and woodwind instrumentalists benefit from the specialist skills available in the practice for advice and treatment of embouchure problems involving the teeth and muscles of the mouth and jaw. Corrections of tooth positions and angulations for improved embouchure formation, fixed bridgework and implant stabilised dentures are all available to improve and extend musical careers. String instrumentalists benefit from the improvement and treatment of face and neck muscle pain and the associated dental discrepancies that may contribute to this condition, easing discomfort and possible over-use injury.
Now offering specialist oral surgery treatment including complex extractions and minor oral surgeries, and a dental hygienist and oral health promotor for children and adults. Specialising also in gum disease - periodontist, and root canal - endodontist.
Dr Amal Lad is a GP and musician treating general and performance specific physical and mental health problems. This would include depression, anxiety, musculoskeletal pain and all problems normally assessed and treated in general practice. He is passionate about finding new ways to support people working in the performing arts. He is also musician and he has composed music for a number of projects including film, theatre and released his personal music on streaming platforms which can be found on his website. Currently, Amal is preparing the release of new experimental music, while continuing his work in medicine.
“As a musician, I have a deep understanding and appreciation for mental and physical wellbeing in order to be able to create music. Creativity empowers me and is needed for personal wellbeing.”
Amal is British Indian and a trustee of South Asian Health Foundation (SAHF) – a charity addressing health inequalities in the South Asian community, where he is involved in the SAHF fellowship and community engagement working group.
Dr Anne Mitchener is a highly experienced Spinal Neurosurgeon and executive coach (work performance). She practises privately at the Schoen Clinic, Wigmore Street, London and at the BMI Clementine Churchill Hospital where NHS patients can be referred by their NHS GP using the Choose & Book eReferral system.
Dr Mitchener sees performing artists for assessment, advice and conservative treatment measures for back and spinal pain, sciatica, degenerative spinal conditions, pain management, carpal tunnel syndrome. She performs spinal surgery for NHS and private patients offering a complete outpatient and inpatient service. She is a member of the British Association of Spinal Surgeons, Society of British Neurological Surgeons with over twenty years’ experience of spinal surgery.
Clinical Interests
- Cervical Spine microdiscectomy and fusion
- Cervical Disc replacement
- Cervical laminectomy/foraminotomy
- Lumbar Spinal laminectomy/foraminotomy
- Lumbar microdiscectomy
- All spine degenerative conditions - operative and injection
- Carpal Tunnel Decompression
Dr Anthony Ordman is a highly experienced Consultant in Pain Medicine, familiar with musicians' medical and pain management needs, and expert in long-term pain and related conditions including spinal or musculoskeletal pain, nerve pain, and the effects of adverse psychological states on pain. He is also a specialist in using cannabis-based medicines. Dr Ordman is the Honorary Medical Adviser to the Royal Society of Musicians and a member of BAPAM's Medical Committee. He is is a keen musician and singer himself.
Dr Sriskantharajah Arun-Castro is a GP with a background in Emergency Medicine and considerable experience of medical provision at major festivals, concerts and sporting events.
He has worked as a doctor in pre-hospital care teams at Glastonbury, Reading and Download Festivals as well as London Stadium.
As a festival doctor he became more aware of the physical and mental strains experienced by performing artists ranging from fatigue to acute pain and stress reactions on tour. This experience piqued his interest in the wellbeing of performers and lead to his involvement with BAPAM.
He has experience in musculoskeletal health and continues to work in elite sport providing medical cover for professional rugby and motor racing at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit .
He is familiar with the assessment and initial management of issues such as repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel syndrome, upper and lower limb musculoskeletal conditions, insomnia, anxiety and depression, adjustment reactions, acute and chronic pain management and assessment of fatigue.
During lockdown 2020, Arun contributed as an editor and chapter author to the Music Industry Therapists Collective’s Touring & Mental Health Manual http://musicindustrytherapists.com .
As a hobby he hosts the The Roadie Medic Podcast that takes a look at the merging scenes of live music, festivals, pre-hospital care and public health.
He is British Asian (Sri Lankan) and is interested in diversity, world music & second and third generation migrant experiences. He is an NHS GP for patients registered at Victoria Medical Centre in Pimlico, and a BAPAM Assessing GP.
Dr Arun Dev Vellore is a specialist in Respiratory Medicine (Chest Medicine), Internal Medicine, Occupational & Environmental disease, Interstitial Lung Disease, General Internal Medicine, Medical Negligence, experienced working with performers such as vocalists or wind players with respiratory disorders, and performance professionals with worsening lung function.
Conditions managed include: Intractable cough. Vocal cord dysfunction. Hyperventilation syndromes. Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. Disability arising from chest trauma. Chronic Chest pain. Cardiac Failure. Occupational Lung Disease. Chest Medicine, General Medicine, Occupational Medicine.
Dr Vellore is an NHS consultant at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
He provides online consultations to any BAPAM-registered patients worldwide, and in-person in Birmingham.
Performing Arts Medicine GP assessments at the BAPAM Clinic at Birmingham Conservatoire. Grade 8 singer, piano player and violinist. Assessments and management advice for mental health and physical problems of students and professionals in the performing arts.
Dr Fozia Hamid combines her clinical expertise and interest in music and the performing arts in her work at BAPAM, where she advises professional and student performers and creative practitioners about a wide spectrum of physical and mental health concerns relating to their work. She is an NHS GP based in London.
NHS GP and Medical Adviser to the South Bank Sinfonia.
Dr McKavanagh is an NHS and BAPAM GP who holds BAPAM clinics in Liverpool and Manchester and helps artists and creative practitioners with a range of physical and mental health concerns. She is a graduate of the UCL Performing Arts Medicine MSc programme.
She is an experienced Doctor who has worked in the NHS for 35 years, and also a performing musician who has performed in solo recitals, and worked as an accompanist for ABRSM and LCM music examinations. She holds an LTCL in Piano Performance and has played violin, viola, clarinet, celtic harp and vibraphone in the past. She have also sung soprano in a chamber choir for the past 20 years.
Special interests include disorders affecting instrumental musicians, particularly overuse musculoskeletal and neurological injuries, focal musicians dystonias and cognitive, hearing and other sensory conditions,sexual and reproductive health and travel medicine.
GP working in community psychiatry. Special interest in mental health in the arts, as well as nutrition and lifestyle. Worked as a theatre costume designer before training as a doctor. Keen singer and instrumentalist who works with Jazz North East. Works within the NHS in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and is the BAPAM GP at our clinic at the Sage, Gateshead.
Dr Nina Amedzro is an experienced NHS GP and a BAPAM Assessing Clinician in the Northeast, Yorkshire & Humberside. She has a special interest in performers’ health. A musician herself, who attended a specialist music school and played in youth orchestras. Since qualifying as a doctor in 2003, she has helped many performance professionals and students with physical and mental health concerns including musculoskeletal pains, poor posture, performance anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, tinnitus, vocal problems and hearing issues.
“Working with BAPAM lets me unite my passion for music and performance with my skills as an experienced GP, so that musicians can access good healthcare and enjoy health and wellbeing".
In her spare time, Nina enjoys watching her favourite bands, discovering new music and playing in a local amateur orchestra.
BAPAM and NHS GP. Advises all performing arts professionals and students about work-related health problems, and is a graduate of the UCL Performing Arts Medicine MSc programme. NHS practice at Grove Surgery, Thetford (only NHS patients registered at the practice can be seen here).
NHS and private GP and Occupational Health Physician who has worked at BAPAM London as an Assessing Clinician advising performing arts professionals and students about all work/study-related problems. AMABO Medical Adviser to the Philharmonia Orchestra. Keen clarinet player who has played and toured with orchestras including the World Doctors Orchestra.
Dr Pippa Wheble is an NHS and BAPAM GP, and a graduate of the Performing Arts Medicine MSc programme at UCL. She has special interests in anxiety management and breathing techniques. Her other interests in the context of General Practice include holistic and integrated health care, occupational health, women's health, ophthalmology. She is a keen singer and instrumentalist, playing violin, viola, saxophone and piano, and she has also trained in dance. She is a BAPAM assessing clinician and the lead facilitator for our Community Drop In peer support sessions.
Dr Tamara Cohen is a GP and health coach with a special interest in mental health, functional medicine and the performing arts. She holds a free clinic at BAPAM for professional and student creative practitioners and is a member of the BAPAM Medical Committee. She is also a singer, performer and member of an amateur musical theatre company, therefore has personal experience of the joys and anxieties within the field. She also consults on sexual health, gynaecology, pre-screening for cruise ship work, joint injuries, fatigue, hypermobility.
Elizabeth Susan Holmes is an experienced optometrist who has gained higher professional qualifications in Minor Eye Conditions and has a Certificate in Glaucoma from The College of Optometrists. Elizabeth enjoys talking to her clients about their lifestyle and how that relates to their eyewear needs. She has worked with musicians and vocalists from a variety of backgrounds, dancers/performers, actors, producers and technicians. She helps with visual correction for performance professionals when spectacles are not appropriate, and with visual stress when reading text/music. She also treats clients for dry eyes, double vision, and other eye conditions.
In her spare time, Elizabeth loves to make music and is a talented Pianist and Clarinetist. She has taken advanced clarinet lessons at the Royal Northern College of Music. She was Principal Clarinetist in the University of Bradford Symphony Orchestra, a member of the City of Hull Youth Symphonic Wind Band, and has played professionally for bands and events.
Elizabeth is registered with General Optical Council (GOC), Association of Optometrists (AOP), Ophthalmic Performers list (OPL), and NHS. She is part of the team at Performing Arts Vision Care.
Jessica Lee Morgan is an Alexander Technique teacher and singer songwriter and recording artist. Jessica has worked with vocalists and instrumentalists on posture training and psychophysical improvement. She can help with issues relating to voice use, preventing performance related pain and overuse/RSI-related problems, stress and anxiety management, and performance wellbeing.
Linda Dixon is an experienced Pilates teacher, teacher trainer, RAD ballet teacher, former professional dancer and examiner. She has over three decades of experience of movement practice; performing, teaching and examining all over the world. She has been practicing Pilates since the mid 80’s and teaching it since 2002. During this time she has developed her teaching methods producing her own unique approach to movement teaching. This approach incorporates the knowledge skills she has accumulated through a lifetime of structured movement practice. Linda teaches at NRG Pilates, and heads up the treatment and performance enhancement department at ‘The Urdang’ in City University of London’s Department of Performing Arts.
Additionally, Linda is a member of the teacher training team for Body Control Pilates specialising in teaching on the studio equipment courses and the level 4 Pilates courses. She has also played an integral part in course development at Body Control, writing their “Adolescent’s Course” and co writing their “Dancer’s Course” with her husband Nathan Gardner.
Linda is experienced in working with dancers and musical theatre performers.
Richmond Stace is a Specialist Pain Physiotherapist who works with performance professionals and others who are struggling to overcome persistent and chronic pain and movement problems or disorders. He is experienced working with multidisciplinary colleagues to address complex physical and psychological support needs. His approach combines coaching and clinical care to support clients through a pain management programme tailored to their needs. Richmond's practice is most relevant to people who:
- have had pain and problems for a long time
- have seen many doctors and therapists
- can’t live the life that they want - home, work, play
- have pain that they don’t understand
- are not getting better
- have pain that won’t go away
- are scared of their pain
- feel stuck and miserable
His aim is to help people:
- understand their pain
- know how to get better
- focus on the ways of overcoming pain
- learn the skills of well-being
- perform in life - at home, at work, at play
- get better and live meaningfully
Richmond is a Chartered Physiotherapist and registered with the HCPC. Originally training as a Registered General Nurse (Brighton University) in the early 90’s, he developed an interest in pain whilst observing the varying responses in recovery after operations. He continued to train as a physiotherapist (Kings College London), and has a further degree in Sport Rehabilitation (University of Surrey) and a Masters Degree in Pain Science (Kings College London).
Performing Arts Vision Care is a specialist optician dedicated to offering vital vision care services to performers and media professionals across the UK, Ireland, and Europe, to ensure that those in the performing arts industry receive the necessary care to maintain and improve their visual performance.
For example, performers may need to quickly read detailed musical scores, change focus between near and far sight, and have a good sense of spatial awareness. Services include sight tests, dispensing musicians' lenses, and advice on all aspects of eye health. Performing Arts Vision Care are based at Meltham in West Yorkshire and provide on location services for those further afield.
About Companies and Group Practices listed on the BAPAM Directory
Optical care for performers. Understands performers' complex eyesight needs including visual fields and working distances, and reading notation while also focusing on the working environment and fellow performers. Based at Allegro Optical in Meltham and Holmfirth.
Sheryl Doe is a dispensing optician with over 16 years' experience in the optical profession and has experience in many different optical disciplines. A keen musician with a lifelong love of music, Sheryl has developed a unique understanding of the challenges that some musicians face with deteriorating eyesight. With a keen interest in Ophthalmic lens design Sheryl has developed a unique algorithm to help in this area and is seen as an industry leader in her specialist field. She has also found that her unique approach to vision correction works well for teachers, lecturers and those that present regularly. She is part of the team at Performing Arts Vision Care.
Dr Thomas Fairfax is an NHS GP working within the direct catchment area of three Northern cities, each with richly multifaceted performing arts communities.
Dr Fairfax consults with any clinical presentation and takes a holisitic approach to carefully considering patients’ biopsychosocial needs. He is also a practising (visual) artist. He is BAPAM's Assessing GP at our clinic at the Glasshouse in Gateshead, and supports creative industry professionals and students with a wide range of work-related health concerns.