Hello everyone

My name is Desmond, and I am a professional cellist.

Thats me standing by Michelle O during my string quartet's first visit to the White House.

The cello has been part of my life since I was four years old — as natural to me as walking and talking.

In April this year, I fell on my right shoulder, sustaining a full-thickness tear of two tendons in my rotator cuff — the Supraspinatus and Infraspinatus. I didn’t realise at first, but these tendons are essential for the side-to-side motion of the bow arm. Without them, I can’t play. And unfortunately, tendons don’t repair themselves so surgery is my only option.

Since April, I haven’t been able to work — I can all in all only play for about six minutes before my arm fatigues.

While the NHS in the UK is outstanding, my career depends on the precision and speed of my recovery. I need a surgeon experienced with musicians — someone who understands how to reattach these tendons in a way that will allow me to perform at the highest level again, and someone who can perform the surgery as quickly as possible.

The cost of surgery and the months of specialist physiotherapy to follow will be around £8,500–£9,000.

The cost of living while in recovery and not working will be around £24,000

The timeline from surgery to being able to play again, is estimated at 1 year to 18 months.

I find it uncomfortable to ask publicly for help, but I’ve realised that this is part of my recovery journey — and I can’t do it alone. I’m not expecting to raise the full amount here, but anything you can give will bring me closer to being able to do what I love for another couple of decades.

Every donation, no matter the size, will help me avoid financial uncertainty and give me the best possible chance of returning to the stage. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading, sharing, and supporting.

Hope to see you (and play to you) again soon!

Des