Our Ambassadors

Dr Fiona Costa originally trained at the Royal College of Music. Her lifelong interest in music, together with a calling to a ministry with older people, has led to a range of different initiatives and interests. Underpinning them all is a desire to address the loneliness and isolation so often experienced in older people. As a research fellow at the University of Roehampton, her principal research interest is the effect of music on the wellbeing and quality of life of older people. Her PhD and subsequent research projects have studied how music can alleviate pain, stress, anxiety and depression. Her most recent work focuses on the use of music to assist in maintaining memory and the ability to communicate in people with dementia. She has contributed to a number of academic journals.

An active member of Holy Trinity Brompton for over forty years, she has been involved in several areas of ministry, most recently those involving older people. Over ten years ago, she initiated and set up a series of concerts and teas for older people in the community. Held six times a year, these concerts are attended by up to five hundred people per event. Attendees include Chelsea pensioners, residents from a number of local care homes as well as individuals living in the community. They provide opportunities for meeting new people, being part of a church community and enjoying music performed by some of the UK’s finest musicians.

From 2008 to 2015, she was trustee and then Chair of the William Wilberforce Trust, a charity that works through the local church to care for those in need. Since 2013, she has been a trustee of the Amber Trust, a charity that provides musical opportunities for blind or partially sighted children and young people. She is a member of the Lambeth Partnership, which supports the personal priorities of the Archbishop of Canterbury.