Able Orchestra Pioneers
Spring Awakened is a collaboration between Orchestra of the Swan and Able Orchestra, exploring environmental issues and inspired by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and a subsequent Orchestras of the Swan concert – Earthcycle, which toured the UK in 2024.
A residency in Spring 2025, culminated in a new co-composition which was performed as part of the launch of a new EP by Able Orchestra at Soundstage Festival, Nottingham in April.
What we wanted to achieve
Able Orchestra began in 2015, when Orchestras Live worked with Inspire Youth Arts to create an inclusive ensemble that brought technology together with orchestral musicians. We wanted to provide opportunities for disabled young people to learn and create their own music. Ten years, on, Able Orchestra has worked with multiple professional orchestras, performing on various platforms including BBC Proms, the ABO Conference and regularly in the Midlands.
This year, we worked with some of the founder members of the orchestra – Able Pioneers, and Orchestra of the Swan, with the aim of providing creative opportunities for these young musicians to develop their compositional skills with professional orchestral musicians, and explore fresh, innovative ways of presenting orchestral work.
The performance of the co-composed Spring Awakened, aimed to showcase the significant achievements and evolution of Able Orchestra since its fledgling debut a decade ago, as well as celebrate and promote the possibilities that inclusive work can offer.
What we did
In February 2025, Able Orchestra Pioneers worked with David Le Page (violin) and Jackie Oates (violin and vocals) from Orchestra of the Swan. The orchestra had toured Earthcycle – inspired by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, in 2024, and this formed the basis for the residency at the Old Library in Mansfield.
In a series of exploratory workshops led by Kris Halpin, the group blended digital and orchestral instruments in innovative ways and developed a new collaborative piece on the theme of Spring. Alongside the music composition, a visual soundscape was created in collaboration with artist Bec Smith. The final piece was entitled Spring Awakened.
Through other conversations with city partners, we had been looking for an opportunity to bring Orchestra of the Swan to Nottingham as part of a music and visual arts biennial festival, Soundstage, and this collaboration provided the perfect way to do that.
Open an image gallery
I learned that even on zoom you can still make incredible music with people and you don't always have to let your health conditions stop you.
~ Able Orchestra member
Outcomes
Alongside their new UNLOCKED EP compositions, Able Orchestra performed the new work, Spring Awakened, in a vibrant concert which welcomed 150 attendees to Nottingham Contemporary.
A series of video projections to visually interpret the music was developed by Able Orchestra with artist Bec Smith and was projected on the walls over the course of the evening. This aspect offered an immersive and multisensory experience to the audience. The Able Pioneers had also developed VR and Sensory stations which enabled further engagement with the creative worlds and journeys of the composers.
A film of the concert is available to watch on our YouTube channel and on the Inspire Youth Arts website.
Overall, the residency achieved its aim to inspire and explore new ways for all musicians to engage in co-composition in a safe and equitable space. Both orchestral musicians and Able Pioneers remarked on the positive outcomes to their creative practices and the value of inclusive approaches to collaboration. All participants stated that they would like to do a project like this again.
It has given me a greater understanding of the power of how to adapt music workshops to fit the needs of young people with physical disability, and of the importance of using music to empower and give agency to talented young people.
~ Orchestra of the Swan musician
Future plans
The next steps are to expand the collaboration between Able Orchestra and Orchestra of the Swan, which will begin with a studio recording of Spring Awakened in Autumn 2025.
We will also continue to support the Able Orchestra Pioneers in their musical career paths by finding ways for them to collaborate with more professional musicians in the field.
We will continue to promote and showcase this work across the Midlands and beyond in order that such projects can be extended to a wider cohort of young disabled musicians.
Partners
Partners: Able Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan, Dyskinetic, Inspire Youth Arts and Soundstage Festival
Musicians/performers: Able Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan, Dyskinetic
Visual artist: Bec Smith
Venues: Old Library, Mansfield & Nottingham Contemporary
