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Emma Purcell

RNCM Disability Week 2024: Celebrating The Talent Of Disabled Musicians And Composers

Last Updated on 23/02/2024 by Crip Life

RNCM Disability Week 2024

The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester is recognised as one of the world’s most forward-thinking conservatoires. From 31st January to 2nd February 2024, it will host the RNCM Disability Week, celebrating the work and talent of disabled musicians and composers.

Now in its second year, this event is in memory of the late composer Lucy Hale and features events exclusively by disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent musicians, composers, conductors, artists, creatives, and researchers.

UPDATE: 21/02/2024 – Scroll down to check out some Instagram reels below from one of the RNCM Disability Week events, a live stream video of Song in Sign and feedback and reactions from performers and visitors. 

Lucy Hale: a remarkably talented disabled composer

Lucy Hale – who lived with a complex neuromuscular condition – joined the RNCM as an undergraduate student in 2013, furthering her studies at postgraduate level and graduating with distinction in 2019. Before her untimely death in January 2021 at the age of 26, she was about to begin a PhD studying assistive technology in music. 

Fortunately, this research has continued in her name thanks to the Lucy Hale Doctoral Award, a Composition PhD in association with Drake Music, which was appointed to composer Megan Steinberg in July 2021.

Lucy Hake disabled composer

Lucy achieved so much both during and after her studies, never letting her challenging personal circumstances stand in the way of her musical aspirations. In 2020, she was awarded a place on the RPS Composers programme and was set to write a new work for performance at Wigmore Hall as the 2020/21 Rosie Johnson RPS/Wigmore Hall Apprentice Composer. 

She also delivered workshops with young disabled people in Liverpool as an Associate Musician with Drake Music, and made history as Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Rebound’s inaugural Young Composer-in-Association and Orchestras for All’s first Composer-in-Residence.

Despite her sad passing, Lucy’s legacy lives on with her music continuing to be played and performed, and the RNCM hosting events, such as Disability Week, honouring her memory and inspiring the next generation of disabled musicians and composers. 

RNCM Disability Week 2024 event guide

The RNCM Disability Week consisted of six events spanning three days, focusing on a variety of musical and accessibility elements, with disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent musicians and composers performing and showcasing their extraordinary talents. RNCM Disability Week 2024 is supported by Arts and Humanities Research Council via NWCDTP.

Visitors commented on the buzz in the building and the importance of programming disability-oriented events. The Neurodiversity Project umbrella installation in the cafe and Drake Music instrument demos on the concourse welcomed students, staff and visitors into a week celebrating diversity and representation.

Artists featured included, Amble Skuse, Kris Halpin, Steve Varden, Clarence Adoo, Morwenna Louttit-Vermaat, Maria Sappho, Billy Payne and RNCM students Maia Payne, Gema Lu Cai, Elio Gaviria and Will Sharland.

Audiences and artists came from across the UK to take part in Disability Week, learn about new music and technologies through the lens of neurodiversity, disability and d/Deafness. It also was a wonderful opportunity for artists, researchers, makers and advocates to meet each other and talk about the future of new music and disability.

Megan Steinberg, who is the RNCM PRiSM Lucy Hale Doctoral Researcher in Association with Drake Music, said: “I really want everyone to feel welcome to join in with these three days of ground-breaking events that showcase work by underrepresented artists from across the UK. Whether or not you identify as disabled, d/Deaf or neurodivergent, the music and technology showcased in this week is really engaging and accessible for everyone. The aim of the week is to learn about and promote accessibility in music and technology, with a particular focus on AI. We will be welcoming and hearing from various musicians, makers and researchers who are paving the way for accessibility and new technology in music.”

RNCM Research Forum – Disability Studies in Music – 31st January 2024 – 4:15pm

Research Forums allows audiences to hear presentations from academics, performers and composers, and to engage in the exchange of ideas that follows. Talks usually last about an hour, including a Q&A session. 

This session will focus on disability studies in music. You can join in person or watch it live streamed from the RNCM YouTube channel.

Workshop with Maria Sappho – 1st February 2024 – 3pm

Maria Sappho is an improviser, artist, and researcher in the UK.  Her work is deeply involved in experimental AI where she has an ongoing collaboration with the world’s only multi-modal creative AI named Chimere. 

In this workshop, Maria will work with participants and Chimere to consider a range of techno-moral questions and share perspectives on individual experiences regarding exclusion, access, and representation within these technologies.

This will be followed by developing a series of new experimental compositions exploring the diverse applications of AI in notation and score development, interdisciplinary practice, and socio-creative work.

RNCM Student Chamber Works – 1st February 2024 – 6:30pm

RNCM students create and curate their own performance in response to RNCM Disability Week. Programme details to be updated shortly.

AMI Etudes – 1st February 2024 – 7:30pm 

Discover new, bespoke and unusual instruments that are being used to meet access needs in this unique concert. AMI stands for ‘Accessible Musical Instruments’, and this concert celebrates the upcoming launch of composer Megan Steinberg’s debut album ami études. An ‘étude’ [French: ‘study’] was historically composed to teach the unique capabilities of an instrument to its students. They are usually short and sweet, exploring a different aspect of the instrument in depth and detail.

These new pieces will explore the sounds and intricacies of accessible musical instruments for disabled and neurodivergent artists.

RNCM Opera Scenes (with BSL Interpretation) – 2nd February 2024 – 6pm

Vocal and conducting students present some of opera’s greatest moments in this free series of staged scenes. A perfect way to feed your curiosity.

BSL interpreter Paul Whittaker will be signing this evening’s set of opera scenes as part of the RNCM Disability Week.

Song in Sign – 2nd February 2024 – 7:30pm

Inclusive company formidAbility will be at the RNCM to stage a concert that sees two opera singers, two signing actors, and a pianist joining forces to create a feast for the senses in a joyous merging of song repertoire and signing.

Be transported to a New Zealand forest in Dame Gillian Whitehead’s Awa Herea (meaning ‘Braided Rivers’), bask in the gorgeous music of Richard Strauss and Duparc before smiling through tears in a new take on Oscar Wilde’s famous story, The Happy Prince by Rylan Gleave (composer) and Max Chase (librettist).

This event is BSL interpreted, audio described, and captioned throughout and you can watch a live stream video of it here:

RNCM Disability Week performances

Here are a few photos and videos from one of the events of the RNCM Disability Week:

A montage of photos showing disabled musicians on stage with accompanying music composed by Lucy Hale

A disabled musician in a manual wheelchair using a hand-wrist device to create music by moving his hands, fingers and arms

A disabled musician is in a wheelchair sat behind a large table, full of accessible switches and buttons that they use to create music

To find out more about the Royal Northern College of Music and how it supports aspiring disabled musicians and composers, visit the RNCM website and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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