News

Drake Music

3 December 2007

Performing music with a Victorian steam engine might seem an odd exercise but that’s just what seven musicians did at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry in March this year as part of Drake Music’s Music Engine project.

Set up by Adele Drake in 1988, Drake Music works with disabled musicians to explore, compose and perform music. While fostering creativity, nurturing talent, and helping develop new skills, they bring together disabled and non-disabled artists in the shared pursuit of music-making.

According to Katie Matthews, Drake’s Head of Communications, the belief that everyone can fulfil their musical potential, given the right opportunities is central to what they do: ‘While we primarily work with people who have severe physical impairments, using technology so that they can create and perform music, we also work with musicians who have cognitive and sensory impairments. Our partners include musicians, other arts organisations and education providers.’

Their Music Engine project lasted three months and gave disabled musicians a platform to create and perform their own new work. It was funded by Awards for All, Arts Council England and South nightclub, and is just one of the innovative and imaginative projects that Drake Music has been running for almost 20 years, all over England.

With bases in London, the South West, North West and East Midlands they offer outreach and music education, professional and career development, tailored training programmes for individuals, groups and for music educators in assistive technology. They also provide opportunities to take part in innovative performance projects and for disabled musicians to collaborate with other artists in new and exciting ways.

As they celebrate their 20th anniversary they’re set to take their work to the next level and to a wider audience, looking forward to placing an even stronger emphasis on artistic excellence, and working on a range of exciting projects that will push boundaries and showcase the talents of disabled musicians.

For more information about Drake Music, visit their website, email info@drakemusicproject.org or call 020 8692 9000