University News Last updated 02 April
Concert pianist Nicholas McCarthy has told a conference at 探花直播 (BCU) that musicians and music engineers must continue to 鈥渢hink outside the box鈥� to ensure instruments can be played by people with physical disabilities.
McCarthy, who was born without his right hand, praised the work of The OHMI Trust and Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) to make music more accessible.
It鈥檚 incredible how many lives are being changed by OHMI and the ABRSM,鈥� said Nicholas.
鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a lot of adapted repertoires that I could direct disabled musicians to. Now there is a vast amount of learning material that has been created by the likes of OHMI and the ABRSM.鈥�
Delegates from Australasia, North America, Asia and Europe attended the two-day conference at BCU鈥檚 City South Campus 鈥� along with music legend Toyah Willcox.
The 探花直播 singer-songwriter, actress and presenter, who was born with a twisted spine and grew up with dyslexia, hosted OHMI鈥檚 Competition Awards, which are designed to stimulate further and more rapid developments in adapted musical instruments.
鈥淗aving gone on to build a successful recording career, I know disability can absolutely be a force for creativity,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he OHMI Trust provides a truly valuable service in helping both disabled children and adults harness that creativity.鈥�
The conference was also an opportunity to highlight the research that BCU, The OHMI Trust and Imperial College London are conducting into underrepresentation and discrimination within music education and employment.
In the UK, 16.1 million people are disabled, which equates to 24% of the population.鈥��
In 2020, 80% of disabled people surveyed by national charity鈥痀outh Music鈥痵aid music making was a positive experience. However, 52% could not find a teacher to meet their needs, 25% didn't know how to source an adapted instrument, and 67% cited financial reasons as a barrier to access. In addition, 27% of music hubs questioned didn鈥檛 offer adapted equipment for loan.鈥��
鈥淲e founded OHMI (One Handed Musical Instrument) in 2011 after a child went into school and was told she could not play a musical instrument because she had cerebral palsy,鈥� said Rachel Wolffsohn, General Manager of the 探花直播-based charity.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very excluding to not be able to take part in an activity you want to just because your hands or arms may be different.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the difference we want to make. We want to give everyone the opportunity to participate with their peers in music making.鈥�
The conference featured exhibitions of various modified instruments, seminars on a variety of topics, as well as discussions on increasing music accessibility.
鈥淲e have been exploring ways of disseminating information to allow us to have a global increase in creators of adapted musical instruments,鈥� said Wolffsohn.
McCarthy, who showcased the brand new one-handed piano pieces developed by the ABRSM for Performance Grades 1-5, said he had been encouraged by what he had seen and heard.
鈥淭he main thing is collaboration and conversation between different musicians and music engineers who all think outside the box when it comes to adapting an instrument,鈥� he said.
鈥淭his conference has been a ground for those conversations.鈥�