- It was against this backdrop that Allianz Musical Insurance chose to lend its support to BSO Resound, the world’s first disabled-led ensemble to form part of a professional symphony orchestra. The ensemble is a role model of artistic achievement and we wholeheartedly support BSO Resound and its mission to inspire a new generation of disabled people to pursue their musical ambitions.
- So we are delighted to learn how the ensemble has had the opportunity to perform and showcase its talent nationally and internationally with the help of two new partnerships united in the desire to make the world a more inclusive one – Arts and Health South West and Parallel.
Government statistics show that Disabled people are extremely underrepresented in the music industries. 19% of the working age population consider themselves disabled, only 4% work in the arts. More must be done to support the representation of disabled people in the arts.
Arts and Health South West
An exciting opportunity for BSO Resound was created by Arts and Health South West (AHSW) when it commissioned award-winning British composer Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian to create a piece of new music to open its Culture, Health and Wellbeing International Conference in June.
The conference was forced into the digital realm as a result of the pandemic, but this hurdle was no barrier to the minds behind this creative venture which drew together not one, or two, but three inclusive ensembles working remotely with Horrocks-Hopayian to bring her new composition called Cap O’Rushes to life.
Based on the Suffolk folktale, Cap O’Rushes charts a daughter’s exile and the personal journey towards reconciliation with her family in three movements called ‘Power’, ‘Exile’ and Reconcile’, BSO Resound, Headspace and a Portuguese ensemble Juvenil de Setubal performed and recorded segments of the new work separately before being woven together with dance and film footage from UNIT, to complete the composition’s presentation to its digital audience.
You can enjoy this engaging and inclusive work which was shared with delegates from 30 countries across the world here.
Parallel
BSO Resound was also given the opportunity to perform to over a thousand people in the Parallel Digital Festival of Inclusivity in July.
Parallel, the social enterprise behind the event, aims is to support disabled people to be free to live life to the full in mainstream society. It has won awards for its approach to inclusive mass participation sporting events. Events of this kind have been near impossible to hold during the pandemic, so, the digital festival represents a wonderful reinvention of Parallel’s work and an exemplar of creativity and collaboration.
Take a look at highlights of BSO Resound’s performance and this inspiring festival of inclusion here.
We hear that BSO’ Resound’s participation in this year’s event has been so well received that Parallel plans to come back next year with a renewed focus on inclusive music. What an excellent result!
Collaborations such as these will move us closer to that day when disabled and non-disabled musicians and artists feature side by side in every band and artistic production as a matter of course.
