Calling all young musicians!

This is an announcement about a ground-breaking musical initiative in the south west for disabled and non-disabled people aged 11-25!

You might already have heard about the South-West Open Youth Orchestra (#SWOYO for short!): the UK’s only disabled-led regional youth orchestra who have already made national headlines with performances at the Palace of Westminster, Bristol Cathedral, and for the 2016 BBC Music Day at Bristol Colston Hall!

This year #SWOYO are looking to find new members from across the South-West and the Cornwall Music Education Hub have partnered up with OpenUp Music (the organisation behind #SWOYO) to promote this wonderful orchestra to as many young disabled and non-disabled as possible.

To find out more, why not take a couple of minutes to watch these very short films about South-West Open Youth Orchestra and let some of the young people currently taking part tell you why this is such a great opportunity!

https://youtu.be/XQ9V96NQPg4

https://youtu.be/OxpZJYCEJR0

Some facts about #SWOYO:

• #SWOYO is the UK’s only disabled-led regional youth orchestra
• It was launched in September 2015

Who #SWOYO are looking for:

• Disabled / non-disabled musicians aged 11-25 who live / study in the South-West
• Musicians don’t need grade exams or to have played in an orchestra before - they just need “Potential, Passion and Perseverance”!

What it will involve:

• #SWOYO will support new members to find an instrument they can play - #SWOYO can even build bespoke instruments that can be played with any part of the body, including the eyes (as you saw in those videos!)
• #SWOYO will lend new members an instrument to take home to practice on if they don’t have one already
• They will provide a peripatetic teacher to support their musical development locally
• They will organise a range of rehearsals across the South-West, including an Easter residential rehearsal at National Star College in Cheltenham
• High profile performances are already planned including 2017’s BBC Music Day!
• And this year, all of this is absolutely free!

Please get in contact with Barry Farrimond of Open Up Music - [email protected] - to find out how you can open up this incredible opportunity to the young people you know!

More information is available at www.openupmusic.org/swoyo. Please share this information with your networks.