Tipp musicians invited to first national youth orchestra for disabled

Opportunity for Tipperary musicians with Le Chéile project to establish Ireland’s first national youth orchestra for disabled musicians with support of Creative Ireland Programme’s National Creativity Fund.

Le Chéile will develop music ensembles in each province and give disabled musicians access to assistive technology allowing them to develop their talents
 
Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Joespha Madigan TD announced the foundation of the first national youth orchestra for disabled musicians in Ireland.  The initiative is one of 30 projects supported by the Creative Ireland Programme as part of a National Creativity Fund.

Le Chéile will develop music ensembles for young disabled musicians in every province in Ireland culminating in the foundation of the Open Youth Orchestra of Ireland (OYOI), the first of its kind in Europe.

These ensembles will bring together disabled and guest non-disabled artists in groups, comprising of 8-12 participants each. Between now and September 2019, they will meet regularly to improvise and compose music together, developing a shared musical experience led by its members.

Third level institutes in each province of Ireland, all leaders in diversity and equality, will partner to develop four unique ensembles. Ulster University (UU) the RIAM and Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) will welcome participants from Ulster, Leinster and Connacht respectively, whilst the Cork School of Music (CIT) will host the Munster ensemble with the support of disability rights group the Cope Foundation.

AIT will later become home to a residential programme that will see all four groups join musical forces ahead of the inaugural performance of the Open Youth Orchestra of Ireland (OYOI) in September 2019. A flagship Creative Ireland initiative, the OYOI will be an orchestra drawn from members of the four provincial Le Chéile groups and will be the island’s first disabled-led national youth orchestra.

At the heart of the Le Chéile project is ownership and choice – participants will choose to use conventional instruments or Adaptive Music Technology (AMT), which by using equipment such as iPads and motion sensors allows physically and intellectually challenged musicians compose, improvise and perform music on a level never possible before.

The four ensembles will utilise a ground-breaking methodology for directing musical performance for disabled artists developed by Dr. Denise White of Ulster University called ‘Conductology’, which will rely on the use of 18 gestures agreed upon by the musicians. This specialised body language will be used by the ensemble conductors to facilitate performance and improvisation in all four ensembles, the first of its kind in the world.

The work of Le Chéile will go beyond the ensembles and orchestra by developing a national framework for bringing musical composition and performance to young disabled artists.  The project will allow for the professional development of teachers and musicians across Ireland and will create a handbook and resource hub to support facilitators in sustaining inclusive ensembles across the island.

Speaking at the announcement today, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Joespha Madigan T.D. said: “The Creative Ireland Programme aims to nurture the creative imagination of children and adults through active engagement with arts and culture, with collaboration at its heart.  The founding of Open Youth Orchestra of Ireland (OYOI) in 2019, a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme’s National Creativity Fund, celebrates inclusivity in music performance education. It represents a strong and crucial beginning in building awareness of the opportunities for young people with disabilities to access music education and participation experiences.  At present, opportunities for persons with disabilities to access active ensemble playing is limited, so the Le Chéile project is a major step towards addressing this inequity."

Head of RIAM Connect, the Academy’s initiative to widen its reach beyond Dublin, and leader of the Le Chéile project Brendan Breslin said, “The Le Chéile project, whilst in its essence a music programme aimed at overcoming challenges for young people in Ireland, also signifies a major step towards societal change; embracing equality, celebrating difference and acknowledging ability at every level.”

“The RIAM are indebted to the support of Creative Ireland, and our partners in CIT, AIT, UU, the Cope Foundation, the American Friends of the RIAM, and Translink, for helping make a strong, positive statement for music and disability. Society must see that difference is valuable in artistic expression and recognise the positive and lasting effect on a person’s wellbeing through inclusion in music. I look forward to the time in the not so distant future when we celebrate the Le Chéile participants as the next generation of developers, researchers, and advocates for creative industries here in Ireland.”

The RIAM welcomes individuals and organisations that are interested in supporting this project. You may register your interest by contacting brendanbreslin@riam.ie