Nordoff Robbins

Live, improvised music reached the children no conventional therapy could.

American composer Paul Nordoff and British special education teacher Clive Robbins began collaborating on a pioneering approach to music therapy, working with children with disabilities at Sunfield School in Worcestershire. Their method, using live, improvised music to reach people whom conventional therapies could not, would grow into one of the most respected therapeutic practices in the world.

A permanent London home, and suddenly the world had somewhere to look.

After more than a decade of research and practice across the UK, Scandinavia, and the United States, the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Centre opened its doors in London. It gave the charity a permanent home and a base from which to train a new generation of music therapists. The centre quickly became a reference point for the field internationally.

A charity born from grief; Clive Robbins carried a shared vision forward just one year after Nordoff's death.

A year after the death of Paul Nordoff in 1976, the charity was formally registered in the UK, ensuring his legacy and the therapeutic approach he co-created would continue. Clive Robbins carried the work forward, and the organisation began building the fundraising infrastructure that would eventually support experiences across sport and music.

Star power and a worthy cause: the Silver Clef lunch quietly became a blueprint for charitable giving across British entertainment.

By 1990, the Silver Clef Awards lunch had become one of the most prestigious occasions in the British music calendar, raising millions for Nordoff Robbins. The charity's ability to attract major names from the entertainment world proved a template: pair a worthy cause with genuine star power and people will open their wallets. This model would later be applied to sport, with rugby a natural fit.

Sport, it turns out, loosens purse strings just as readily as music.

Building on the success of its music industry occasions, Nordoff Robbins launched a series of sporting fundraisers. The Legends of Football dinner became a flagship celebration, honouring the greatest names in the game. Golf days and other sporting occasions followed. The charity recognised that sport, like music, has a unique ability to bring people together and loosen purse strings.

Union and league, one room, one night on Park Lane; the breadth of rugby royalty assembled here is virtually unmatched.

The Legends of Rugby Dinner emerged as a standalone occasion in the Nordoff Robbins calendar, bringing together icons from both rugby union and rugby league. Held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House on Park Lane, the format is straightforward: honour a legend, hear their stories, raise money. The combination of both codes under one roof gives the evening a breadth that few rugby occasions can match.

A fresh identity, the same founding soul; thousands of lives touched through music therapy every year.

The charity underwent a significant rebrand, updating its identity while recommitting to its founding principles. By this point, Nordoff Robbins was reaching thousands of people annually through music therapy sessions across the UK, funded in no small part by its programme of high-profile occasions. The Legends of Rugby Dinner continued to grow, attracting corporate tables and individual supporters alike.

127 caps and a women's trailblazer on the same stage; Youngs and Hunt redefine what a rugby legend looks like.

The 2026 Legends of Rugby Dinner, held on 11 February at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, honours England scrum-half Ben Youngs and England women's international Natasha Hunt. Youngs, England's most-capped male player with 127 appearances, and Hunt, a trailblazer for the women's game, represent the modern breadth of the sport. The evening continues the tradition of pairing world-class rugby talent with the charity's mission to transform lives through music therapy.