The Able Orchestra, an innovative music project featuring disabled and non-disabled young musicians from Mansfield, was invited by the BBC to play alongside professional orchestral members at this year’s prestigious Ten Pieces II Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London, at the weekend.

The orchestra, including young people from Fountaindale School, Mansfield, and Outwood Academy Portland, Worksop, was set up to work with the students to develop new pieces of music and perform on equal terms with non-disabled counterparts.

It is an evolving project based on the principle of enabling young people to create and perform music on equal terms, regardless of their physical dexterity or musical experience.

The project was originally devised for disabled students using digital devices and music technology by County Youth Arts, part of INSPIRE, the newly-formed Arts, Culture and Learning organisation set up by Nottinghamshire County Council.

Coun Liz Plant, vice-chairman of the council’s Children and Young People’s Committee, said: “We are immensely proud of the Able Orchestra.

“They were fantastic when they performed at Showcase earlier this year, and once again captivated an audience when they performed as part of The Proms.

“It was wonderful that they were given a chance to perform on a prestigious national stage.”
The scheme was developed from a pilot with professional digital and contemporary artists into a partnership with Orchestras Live, a national music producer, enabling the students to compose and perform alongside a professional orchestra.

An initial project worked with great success with members of the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Able Orchestra was then invited to work with the internationally-renowned Hallé on a creative response to the BBC Ten Pieces national scheme, which aims to open up the world of classical music to a generation of young people.

The integrated orchestra performed at Mansfield’s Palace Theatre in May and the Fountaindale musicians also premiered some their work at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall.

In the latest project, young people from Fountaindale School used technology to create and control sounds and projected digital images, devising a new piece using Gabriel Prokofiev’s Concerto For Turntables And Orchestra as the inspiration for their work.

Building on this, young instrumentalists from Outwood Academy Portland developed additional material for the piece by reinterpreting fragments from more of the BBC Ten Pieces, including Bernstein’s Mambo and Bizet’s Habanera.

A team of artists from County Youth Arts and the Hallé supported both groups.

The Proms performances with the Able Orchestra included the BBC Philharmonic.