 Lia Mice We are delighted to announce that Lia Mice is one of four new trustees to join the OHMI Board.
Lia is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, educator and maker of oversized musical instruments whose works range from live A/V performance, composition, digital musical instrument design, installations and interactive sonic sculpture to academic papers. She is also the Programme Leader of the MA Creative Music Production at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, London. Australian by birth, Lia made her home in the UK some nine years ago, with the opportunity to perform in so many different and internationally renowned venues being a particular pull. Lia first become involved in OHMI in 2018 when, as part of her PhD in Media and Arts Technology at Queen Mary University of London, she worked on a six-month project to develop a concept for a one-handed violin. The project gave her a greater awareness of the importance of inclusive teaching and assessing students’ needs. Lia said, “As a programme leader of a Master’s in creative music production and as a music tutor, I am committed to developing and championing inclusive music technology and teaching practices. Since working with OHMI six years ago, the work of the charity has always been on my radar so it’s great to now be invited on as a trustee.” Clare Salters, OHMI’s Chair, added, “We’re delighted to welcome Lia to OHMI’s Board. Her incredible knowledge of building instruments together with her PhD in instrument design will be so valuable to OHMI, not least in developing our biennial competition and assessing the submissions of papers and presentations for our major conference on Music & Physical Disability, taking place in Birmingham in March.” All at OHMI extend their warmest welcome to Lia.  We are delighted to announce that Liane Todd is one of four new trustees to join the OHMI Board.
Liane has lived, studied and worked her whole life in North East England, both performing and teaching. She studied Classical Music at Newcastle University with clarinet as her principal instrument, along with flute and saxophone. Music has been a lifelong passion and she has played in all kinds of theatre, symphony and jazz orchestras as well as folk gatherings. She worked as a peripatetic woodwind teacher for Northumberland County Council for 26 years and as the exam coordinator for music examination board ABRSM in Alnwick and Morpeth. Liane’s career was dramatically cut short seven years ago. Whilst performing in a theatre pit orchestra, she was hit with a quarter of a tonne of scenery equipment, leaving her with complex regional pain syndrome, a long-lasting condition affecting her entire left side. Whilst undergoing treatment after her accident, Liane’s occupational therapist put her in touch with OHMI. OHMI’s General Manager Rachel Wolffsohn encouraged her to hire the one-handed clarinet on a short-term basis to see if she would take to it, even hand delivering the instrument from Birmingham. Having lived experience of adapting to a one-handed musical instrument following disability is something which Liane sees as a particular strength in her new trustee role. As she explains: “Losing the ability to play my clarinet, flute and saxophone was almost like a bereavement but the encouragement of everyone at OHMI has given me new purpose. “When I think back to my time as a music teacher, I think of those pupils with particular needs who would have benefitted from the opportunity to play an adapted musical instrument. I should have made it my business to find out and now I’m determined not just to give something back to OHMI – however important that is to me – but to learn more about the wide range of adapted musical instruments and enabling equipment on offer, and to bring the charity a little further north!” Clare Salters, OHMI’s Chair, comments, “Liane has a lot to offer OHMI as she joins the board. As well as her experience as a performer and educator, her voice as a previous user of OHMI’s services will be particularly valuable to developing the Trust’s work and ensuring we keep aligned to the needs of our beneficiaries.” All at OHMI extend their warmest welcome to Liane. Disabled young musicians gain valuable ensemble experience at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire23/7/2024
 Young people with an upper limb weakness, difference or absence are being offered the opportunity to join ensembles with the next generation of music teachers, thanks to a pioneering new partnership between Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) and The OHMI Trust. The project, which started as a trial in January, was conceived with the aim of creating an environment where disabled individuals with their adapted musical instruments and enabling equipment, could join able-bodied peers to perform together. Participants, aged between 10 and 19 years, are offered ten sessions over the year which might be blocks or spread over months. Performance opportunities, most recently at Symphony Hall in Birmingham, highlight the potential for adapted musical instruments to perform in recognisable ensembles such as quartets and trios. The collaboration is particularly important in raising awareness of inclusive music-making amongst the next generation of music teachers who are currently RBC students. Such ‘playing buddies’ include Katie Jordan on woodwind, Rachel Cocks on trombone and Charlotte Clews on flute. Reflecting on her role in the project, Katie said: “I’ve found the process really helpful. I’ve not got a lot of one-to-one teaching experience and these sessions have definitely helped me build the confidence to be able to teach more students. It’s also fascinating to see the different challenges that come with the one-handed flute as opposed to the standard flute. The one-handed instrument is very tricky for me to play after learning on a regular flute.” OHMI Music-Maker Husna added: “I’m a lot more confident now. In the last year, OHMI have provided me with two fantastic opportunities to showcase the skills I’ve learnt – a solo performance at the music festival for Music-Makers at Barton-Under-Needwood and I’ll also be playing at Symphony Hall. Without the support from OHMI I feel that wouldn’t be possible.” The project has been made possible thanks to support from DMF Ellis Charitable Trust and the Grantham Yorke Trust. Given the success of the project to date, it is hoped that funding will be found to extend the project next year. Students seeking to get involved can register their interest by contacting Faye Oakland, OHMI Music-Makers Manager at: [email protected]. Unfortunately, Katie wasn't able to perform at Symphony Hall but we are grateful for Craig Holmes from Services for Education stepping in. You can watch their performance here: Call for papers and presentation ideas issued for OHMI’s Music & Physical Disability Conference 20257/6/2024
 Valerie Thomforde at the 2018 OHMI Conference, testing out a violin adaptation created by Lia Mice A call for papers and presentation ideas has been issued to help deliver a major conference on Music & Physical Disability taking place in Birmingham on 15th and 16th March 2025. The conference, which is being delivered by the OHMI Trust, in collaboration with Birmingham City University and Imperial College London, will explore the music-making barriers faced by people with physical disabilities, from the design and ongoing production of instruments to wide-ranging issues around performing. The event aims to bring together perspectives and experiences from a wide range of people including disabled musicians and instrument makers, as well as academic researchers from many different disciplines, teachers, charities, funders, and government agencies. Recently developed instrument designs will also be demonstrated.
The event builds on the success of the inaugural OHMI Conference in 2018 which attracted international representation and speakers from five continents. Rachel Wolffsohn, OHMI’s General Manager, said, “By sharing knowledge in this way at such a high-profile conference, we hope to stimulate further and more rapid developments over the coming years. We would like to encourage presentations or presentation ideas from anyone who understands and is interested in this important area of work. “We are looking for submissions that might relate to specific instruments, teaching, performance or learning. They might be early experiences with music, and their consequences, or challenges of relearning an instrument after acquiring a disability – and everything else in between.” The deadline for papers is 30th September 2024. The winners of the OHMI Competition awards will also be announced at the event. Further information is available on the OHMI Research Partnership website: https://www.ohmirp.org.uk/ohmiconference.html  Musicians with an upper limb weakness, absence or impairment are being invited to join a new Music-Makers club. The club is being set up by The OHMI Trust and is designed to bring together adults who use adapted musical instruments or enabling equipment as well as parents of children who use such instruments and their teachers.
The aim of the OHMI Music-Makers club is to enable disabled musicians to share their successes and challenges and become part of a much bigger and growing community. It is free to join and members will receive:
Rachel Wolffsohn, General Manager at OHMI, explains, “We know playing an adapted instrument can often be a lonely experience, particularly for children when they might be the only person in their school who plays an adapted instrument. We decided to launch the group for the benefit of children who are having OHMI music lessons and for our instrument hirers but anyone who plays an adapted instrument is invited to join. “We have very many talented musicians who are part of the OHMI community. The new club presents the opportunity for them to celebrate achievements and share their experiences of instruments and equipment with others who are learning at the same time.”
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