West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris joined an orchestra with a difference during a visit to Three Ways School in Odd Down.
Dan Norris playing the clarion with Ted | Photo Freia Turland
Mr Norris celebrated the achievements of the ‘Three Ways School Open Orchestra’, which has benefitted from a £3,000 cash injection from the West of England Combined Authority.
The Mayor joined the talented musicians as they practised for their end-of-year concert.
Local charity Open Up Music is the brainchild behind ‘Open Orchestras’ ensuring children with disabilities do not miss out on the joy of making music.
Members of the twelve-strong Three Ways School orchestra played several of the pieces they are preparing for the end-of-year jamboree to the Metro Mayor, with music arranged to make the most of their talents by orchestra leaders Aimee Warburton and Michael Moast.
The youngsters play a wide range of instruments, including electric keyboards, violins and a special instrument called a Clarion.
The Mayor even got the chance at playing the Clarion himself. Aimee and Michael guided Mr Norris on how to make music with the award-winning and locally designed accessible instrument. The Clarion is played on an iPad using any part of the body.
Metro Mayor Dan Norris: “Music is magic. I’m so pleased this £3,000 cash injection from the West of England Combined Authority means more talented students are experiencing being a part of the band, playing, performing together and making new friends.”
Open Up Music is encouraging other special schools in the area to join the Open Orchestras community and give their students the same opportunity.
Trusts and Foundations Manager Alison Maxhuni added: “The support we’ve had from the West of England Combined Authority has been invaluable.
“Benefiting from human resources expertise and business mentoring has also been fantastic in these challenging times. Next year, there will be over 50 Open Orchestras running in the UK.
“We’d like to encourage all special schools and Music hubs in the West of England to start their own school orchestra – the stronger the networks in our region, the more opportunities we can create for young disabled people to connect musically and socially.”
There are now eleven Open Orchestras in the region, supporting over 100 talented eight-to-eighteen-year-old disabled musicians.
