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The ensemble members are developing their respect
ive voices by engaging in an art form which is substantially improving their wellbeing. BRENDAN BRESLIN Founder Of Le Chéile Project and member of The Royal Irish Academy Since December 2018, Brendan Breslin, Head of Connect at The Royal Irish Academy of Music situated on Pearse Street, has been working on a unique initiative which marks an exciting first for Ireland. Our island has a rich tradition of fostering exceptional symphony and chamber orchestras. However, there has never been an ensemble comprised exclusively of disabled musicians. “Ireland is groundbreaking in researching the relationship between neuroscience and music,” Breslin proclaimed. “I was shocked, then, to discover that there wasn’t a fully integrated ensemble formed for musicians with physical or intellectual challenges.” Community music has played a significant role in Breslin’s life having played in numerous wind and brass bands before entering professional musicianship with The Band of An Garda Síochána, fifteen years ago. It was around that time when he entered The Academy to study, specialising in community music across the country, focusing on orchestras and choirs. Fortunately for Breslin, The Academy was extremely supportive of the ensemble projects he established which emphasised community development, diversity, and inclusivity. Eighteen months ago, a grant application released by Creative Ireland caught Breslin’s attention. “We had been intrigued by a pilot programme developed by Dr. Denise White at Ulster University called Inclusive Creativity,” Breslin explained. This scheme looked at assisted music technology where laptops, iPads, and launchpads facilitated people with various intellectual or physical challenges to access their creativity through ensemble activity. By pressing a button or lightly touching the surface of an iPad people with minimal motor abilities were able to create sound. “We’re trying to show how technology can break down barriers that may have prevented people from being creative in this way,” Breslin proffered enthusiastically. With funding behind the initiative, the Le Chéile Project was born in January of this year with ensembles formed in Athlone, Cork, Derry, and Dublin. The individual groups have been rehearsing on a weekly basis, working towards a large-scale performance where the musicians will come together to create the Open Youth Orchestra of Ireland, this September. This stage of the project will mark another first as the four groups will have a residential stay at Athlone Institute of Technology. A regular occurrence for orchestras across the country, this hasn’t happened with a group of disabled people within the arts. What is involved in the preparation for this performance? Each group (varying from seven to twelve members) has a facilitator who is required to have a number of strings to their bow. They need to have a heightened awareness of the nature of the technology being used in this form of therapy. Furthermore, they’re trained in a gesture-based language called Conductology, as a way to communicate with the ensemble. “The facilitators use their face or arms to give signals for the musicians to respond to. They could wave their hand in a circular motion to indicate to continue playing or point to the ceiling to indicate a point where the melody is going up a note,” explained Breslin. It’s an all-encompassing project that touches on culture, education, and health because, as Breslin attests, “The ensemble members are developing their respective voices by engaging in an art form which is substantially improving their wellbeing. In the Derry group, there’s a gentleman who was almost completely nonverbal when we met at the start of the project. Now, not only talking to colleagues within the ensemble, but he’s presenting in concerts and talking to the audience.” The progress and positivity surrounding the Le Chéile project has been a defining moment for The Academy. Looking towards the future of Le Chéile, Breslin is eager to continue developing the programme. “We’re looking to create a handbook to guide anybody from a music therapy or education background to establish a Le Chéile group in their region. It’s so important to recognise the need and want of people who have been disenfranchised and help them reclaim their voice through music and performance.” ● 30