Our History
From the bedside of cancer patients to the House of Lords — a quiet guardian of charitable causes.
Arcava was incorporated as a private limited company on 24 July 1995 — a company limited by guarantee, operating on a non-profit basis from its very first day. It was registered with the Charity Commission on 14 April 2000, receiving Charity Number 1080350. But its work had begun five years earlier, and its spirit long before that.
Founder Dr. Olga Thomas had already spent years performing freely in hospitals. The formal establishment of Arcava gave that impulse an institutional home — non-profit from its very first day.
Before any gala or reception, Arcava's work took its most intimate form: Dr. Thomas performing piano concerts at the bedside of cancer patients. "It was very, very good. I tapped my fingers to it," said one patient. It remains the truest expression of what Arcava is for.
Dr. Thomas performed at Her Majesty's Theatre in the presence of HRH The Duke of Kent in aid of Trinity Hospice, and at the Hampstead Theatre for SATFA — alongside artists including Juliet Stevenson and Simon Russell-Beale. Arcava's founder gave her talent in a personal capacity, in support of these causes and charities.
Arcava's first major campaign raised funds for the new Guy's, King's and St Thomas' Cancer Institute. Launched at Guy's Tower with Susannah York and Patti Boulaye, sponsored at pre-launch by Ernst & Young, and crowned by a Summer Reception at the House of Lords hosted by Patron Baroness Hooper.
A major concert in aid of the Zisize AIDS Orphan Project featured original compositions by Dr. Thomas performed by The ARCAVA Players, alongside an auction of signed drawings by actor Peter Falk, conducted by the Rt. Hon. Eric Forth MP.
Hosted by Baroness Hooper, a concert in two parts featuring Dr. Thomas's own compositions with violinists Lorraine McAslan and Philip Vaiman — who travelled from the United States especially to perform. Susannah York and Eve Best were among those attending.
On 8 October, Dr. Thomas presented Themes of Life and Glory to Her Majesty The Queen at the Golden Jubilee reception of Cruse Bereavement Care — the beginning of a remarkable decade of charitable music.
A fundraising evening for the Head and Neck Research and Amenity Fund, acknowledged with messages of support from Michael Douglas and his family. Susannah York attended; Baroness Hooper donated tea for two at the House of Lords as an auction prize.
For approximately the past ten years, Dr. Thomas has donated 100% of the proceeds from her Royal music releases to Cruse Bereavement Support and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity — sustained across multiple chart-topping recordings.
Dr. Thomas attends the Patron's Lunch on The Mall, 12th June, as Resident Composer for Cruse Bereavement Care — a Royal occasion reflecting the deep and enduring connection between Arcava's charitable mission and the work of Cruse Bereavement Support.
Dr. Thomas and trustee Joanna Forest performed at a Charity Gala Dinner at the Grand Connaught Rooms in aid of The Prince's Trust, SSAFA and Wheeling Around the World — sharing a stage with Patti Boulaye OBE and Brinsley Forde MBE.
Presented by the Regent's Music Society at Regent's University London, in recognition of Dr. Thomas's contribution to charitable music.
Arcava continues its mission — as committed as ever to the principle that art freely given is the most powerful form of charitable service.
In photographs
