“Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s BSO Resound has spent a year challenging assumptions about what disabled musicians can do,” writes Elizabeth Davis at Tuesday’s (3/26) Classic FM (U.K.). Launched a year ago, the orchestra “would be made up of disabled musicians and would be conducted by James Rose, who lives with cerebral palsy. A year later, the orchestra have been performing around the country—including in schools as part of the BSO’s outreach work—and have announced a partnership with Allianz Musical Insurance…. Conductor James Rose said: ‘For a while people thought I was a bit crazy and they would often raise their eyebrows when I told them I was a conductor…. BSO Resound has literally started my conducting career, it has given me the exposure I need to show people what I can do.’ … The ensemble isn’t a traditional set of instruments—there’s a violinist, a cellist, a clarinettist, a flautist, a percussionist and a LinnStrument player.” LinnStruments allow musicians to play notes by touching a screen. “And James conducts using head movements and a baton attached to his glasses.” Says longtime Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra cellist Roger Preston, “I wouldn’t have predicted that we would end up in a year being where we are now.”
Posted March 29, 2019
