Our Musical Senses programme, is an opportunity targeted at young musicians, who are blind/have a vision impairment (VI), or who are deaf/hard of hearing (HoH).

Working in partnership with other organisations  we have developed a specific focus on making what we do accessible to young people who receive sensory support – young people who are blind/have a vision impairment (VI), or who are deaf/hard of hearing (HoH).  This programme is called Musical Senses. This is only possible due to funding support from our sister charity, Musical Boroughs Trust (registered charity no. 1183585, working name Tri-borough Music Trust - TBMT), John Lyons Charity, Ingles Trust, and other individual donors.

Reports can be found here:
# 2022-23 HERE
# 2023-24 PDF HERE; Word HERE

Now in its fifth year, our Musical Senses programme aims to cover 3 main areas:

1. Training and professional development for teachers.

2. Working with and engaging positive role models into the roles of music leaders.

3. Supporting this cohort of pupils with specific sensory needs to physically come to engage with high-quality musical activity.

The Tri-borough Music Hub (TBMH) is sharing information about our Musical Senses programme, which is an opportunity targeted at young musicians, aged 10-18 (Secondary schools/phase), who are blind/have a vision impairment (VI), or who are deaf/hard of hearing (HoH). The 2025 programme builds on the success of last year's work. The offer is a 2-day workshop experience, with composition, performance and experiential elements. Attendance of both days is essential. Please read on for more details. 

Event information: Saturday 31st, May and Sunday 1st June 10-4pm 

We are running 2 consecutive days of musical activity at the Royal College of Music (RCM) Jay Mews to give young musicians an inspiring, engaging, and high-quality musical experience which includes creative collaboration, performance, and musical experiences. We are aiming for all participants to come to work collaboratively and creatively in interactive music sessions where all young people and workshop leads – are either vision impaired or hard of hearing. A support document is HERE.

• We are focusing on working with Secondary aged/phase students, aged 10-18, who play, sing, or compose music.

• We are hoping to work with 20 x VI pupils and 20 x HoH pupils.

• Pupils will be expected to attend both days.

We hope that every young person will be inspired and will know that their aspirations are achievable. Alongside these musical outcomes for the pupils, we hope that this will be a positive experience for families and that you will feel included, welcomed, and valued.

Come to work collaboratively and creatively in a series of interactive music workshops. The sessions will include:

• Interactive Games

• Collaborative Composition

• Learning Musical Repertoire

• Developing Performance skills

• Sharing Concert on the final Sunday

All sign-up details are HERE or scan the QR code. Registrations close FRIDAY 30th April. More information is attached including a poster.

Other information to note:

• This opportunity is offered as a priority to pupils who live or go to school in either Hammersmith & Fulham; Kensington & Chelsea, and Westminster. However, we are happy to welcome pupils from other London Boroughs and further afield.

• Pupils who already learn an instrument should bring that instrument to play; pupils who do not currently play an instrument but love music can take part by singing and playing percussion instruments that will be provided.

Further information can be found on our website: https://www.triboroughmusichub.org/school-services/musical-senses/

If you have any questions about any of the above, please contact me (Emily Stratford), SEND Strategic Lead Consultant TBMH (emily.stratford@triboroughmusichub.org). We hope that we can make these events a huge success.

Register your interest in being in the programme

We are keen to develop a database of students/families who would like to be kept informed of future Musical Senses events and opportunities.

Please complete this short form HERE and we will then be in touch when we have new information to share.

NB: Even though this programme is led by Tri-borough Music Hub (covering Hammersmith & Fulham; Kensington & Chelsea; and Westminster), we welcome any young people from any area to be involved who are blind/have a vision impairment (VI), or who are deaf/hard of hearing (HoH).

Links to films and audio 

• Main Performance Film 2024 HERE

• Short Film about Musical Senses 2024 HERE

• Audio HERE from VI group composition 2024

• Audio HERE from HoH group composition 2024

• Musical Senses Summary Film from 2023: short version HERE

• Musical Senses Summary Film from 2023: Long version HERE

Resources 

Our specialist workshop leads and tutors have created bespoke resources to be used in the continuation of professional development and learning for our staff, tutors, and partners. These are available here, click on the links:

• Advice for working with HoH Musicians 

• Deaf Awareness sheet

• Support Workers Guide Assisting Visually Impaired Educators at TBMH

Challenges Faced By Visually Impaired Musicians in Orchestras

As part of our commitment to growing representation we have been fortunate to work with Paula Chavez (and her sister, Fabiana) for the past three years, both of whom are blind musicians and music educators. They teach curriculum music in schools, piano lessons at our Saturday Music School, and support our out of school ensembles. Paula has written a really candid and insightful piece of work which we feel is important for us to share more widely in order to raise awareness and build inclusivity in the work of music education. You can read Paula’s article by clinking on the links below:

• Word Version

• PDF Version

Partners

ABRSM

In partnership with four Royal Schools of Music, ABRSM carry on a long legacy of musical excellence. More than an awarding organisation, they support learners from the first note they play, and empower teachers who help build musical skills and encourage progress around the world. 

As a charity, ABRSM also make significant donations towards music education initiatives globally. They advocate for music and its many forms, playing their part to ensure the future of music education and its place in society. 

Together with their partners, teachers and others around the world, ABRSM have been nurturing the future of music since 1889—to help people start or continue their journey. https://www.abrsm.org/en-gb

Audiovisibility (Ruth Montgomery, Founder and Artistic Director)

Ruth was born deaf into a musical family. She studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, achieving her BMus Honours degree in music and flute performance. She is not only a professional flautist, but also a music teacher and workshop practitioner. As a visionary artist and creative Ruth proves through all aspects of her work that music is not just auditory in nature. Having become a Clore Leadership Fellow, Ruth has developed a worldwide network of professional relationships with arts, music, and media organisations.

In 2016 Ruth founded Audiovisibility https://www.audiovisability.com/ to bridge the gap between deaf and hearing artists, primarily by using visual arts and music. Audiovisibility is a charity that brings the highest quality of classical and non-western traditional music to deaf people. It recognises the innate talent of deaf musicians and artists through the forging of partnerships, music education, and innovative thinking.  

Royal College of Music

The Royal College of Music's learning and participation programme, RCM Sparks, has been providing inclusive opportunities for young people to engage with music education since 2007 https://www.rcm.ac.uk/sparks/. 

We actively recruit participants facing barriers to participating in music education and provide a pathway of high-quality long-term engagement in line with the RCM's Access and participation plan.

We strive towards the Royal College of Music being a place where everyone feels welcome and represented. 

We collaborate with a broad and diverse range of professionals and organisations to deliver a wide range of opportunities from targeted projects to large-scale events. 

We train Royal College of Music students in the field of music education, developing a vibrant new generation of educators with relevant and meaningful practical experience, who in turn, are aspirational role models for our participants. 

Tri-borough Music Trust

Tri-borough Music Trust is the charitable arm of the Tri-Borough Music Hub (TBMH). We promote and support music activities for all children and young people across the three boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, and the City of Westminster, but particularly target those young people experiencing inequalities or disadvantage – more information here: https://www.triboroughmusichub.org/support-us/about-tri-borough-music-trust/

Tri-borough Music Hub

 Our vision is for every child or young person – whatever their age, ability, or life circumstances – to have their voice heard, to feel included, and to be able to access enriching and relatable musical experiences. 

The Tri-borough Music Hub (TBMH) is the award-winning lead organisation that oversees the delivery of music education in the three West London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and the City of Westminster.

We work with schools, pupils, music educators and the community. We are a centralised Local Authority service which receives core funding from the Department for Education via Arts Council England. We operate a shared-services model across three Local Authorities to deliver an expansive programme of musical learning, in and out of school.

Alongside the three Local Authorities, the TBMH Strategic Partners are the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal College of Music. In addition, a quality-assured group of delivery partner organisations work to meet the TBMH’s strategic aims and positively contribute to our stakeholders. The TBMH is a music-specific service focused on high quality outcomes inclusive of all learners. It recognises the numerous benefits that music can bring to everyone from all backgrounds and in all circumstances. For more information about the work of the TBMH see annual reports HERE.