Open Up Music
Young disabled people are for the most part excluded from ensemble music making: in schools, among orchestral players, composers, music leaders and audiences. Since 2007, Open Up Music’s award-winning programmes have created opportunities for young disabled people to be musicians, making their own music, not just listening to the music of others.
It launched the National Open Youth Orchestra (NOYO) in 2018, creating an accessible orchestral environment for talented 11-25 year-old disabled musicians to develop their skills at advanced level. Alongside non-disabled musicians, they rehearse and perform as members of a world pioneering inclusive youth orchestra. Some play acoustic instruments, other electronic and accessible ones – such as the Clarion, which can be played with any body movement, including head or eye movement.
NOYO successfully navigated the pandemic, releasing its first video ‘What Fear We Then?’ by Alexander Campkin, and touring nationally in 2022.
The Lightbulb Trust is making it possible for NOYO to start its next chapter with confidence. NOYO began with three regional groups, and has now expanded to five groups across England and Wales, with monthly rehearsals, an annual residential and concerts in prestigious venues.
“I’m super excited about where NOYO could go! The possibilities are endless with the music we play, the instruments in the orchestra and where we perform.” NOYO musician
NOYO is musician-centred and Open Up Music works alongside young disabled people. They help shape the music they play, inspiring cutting-edge composers to write for a more diverse group of musicians and instruments.
NOYO is delivered in collaborative partnership with some of the UK’s leading arts and cultural organisations. Together we dismantle the barriers that young disabled people face to create a world where music-making is open to everyone.
Open Up Music
Young disabled people are for the most part excluded from ensemble music making: in schools, among orchestral players, composers, music leaders and audiences. Since 2007, Open Up Music’s award-winning programmes have created opportunities for young disabled people to be musicians, making their own music, not just listening to the music of others.
It launched the National Open Youth Orchestra (NOYO) in 2018, creating an accessible orchestral environment for talented 11-25 year-old disabled musicians to develop their skills at advanced level. Alongside non-disabled musicians, they rehearse and perform as members of a world pioneering inclusive youth orchestra. Some play acoustic instruments, other electronic and accessible ones – such as the Clarion, which can be played with any body movement, including head or eye movement.
NOYO successfully navigated the pandemic, releasing its first video ‘What Fear We Then?’ by Alexander Campkin, and touring nationally in 2022.
The Lightbulb Trust is making it possible for NOYO to start its next chapter with confidence. NOYO began with three regional groups, and has now expanded to five groups across England and Wales, with monthly rehearsals, an annual residential and concerts in prestigious venues.
“I’m super excited about where NOYO could go! The possibilities are endless with the music we play, the instruments in the orchestra and where we perform.” NOYO musician
NOYO is musician-centred and Open Up Music works alongside young disabled people. They help shape the music they play, inspiring cutting-edge composers to write for a more diverse group of musicians and instruments.
NOYO is delivered in collaborative partnership with some of the UK’s leading arts and cultural organisations. Together we dismantle the barriers that young disabled people face to create a world where music-making is open to everyone.
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