The OHMI Trust is looking for a Part-Time Finance Officer to join our team.
This is an exciting opportunity to support a pioneering charity dedicated to making music accessible for people with physical disabilities through the development and promotion of adapted musical instruments.  The successful candidate will play a key role in managing the Trust's financial administration, helping to ensure the smooth running of our organisation and supporting our ongoing charitable work.

How to ApplyFor full details about the role, responsibilities, hours, and person specification, please see the Job Specification below.

Closing date for applications:  11 October 2026 at 23:59

We encourage interested candidates to apply as early as possible.  If you are an organised and experienced finance professional who would like to contribute to a small, ambitious charity making a real difference, we would love to hear from you.

Please refer to the attached Job Specification for application instructions and further information.

The OHMI Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

​The accomplishments of musicians playing instruments with only one hand were celebrated at a special concert for The OHMI Trust, held at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on 12th September 2026.
 
The concert marked our 15th anniversary and sought to raise both funds and awareness of our work in commissioning the research, design and manufacture of adapted instruments, making them available through the OHMI Instrument Hire Scheme and in matching disabled musicians with qualified teachers. 
 
The concert showcased the art of the possible through a vibrant mix of repertoire and styles performed by OHMI musicians of all ages, alongside RBC students and alumni. The evening began with performances from the youngest of OHMI’s Music-Makers, including a powerful rendition of the ‘James Bond Theme’ by 10-year-old Luca on the trumpet.
 
One-handed performances or those made possible with the use of enabling equipment were delivered by:

• Hungarian musician Edit van der Burg, who plays the one-handed flute after incurring a significant brain injury.
• Teenage pianist, Freya Terris, who recently made history as the first person to pass ABRSM Grade 8 using only one hand.
• OHMI trustee, Liane Todd, who lives with complex regional pain syndrome following a life-changing accident, on the one-handed clarinet. 
• Esther Mannouch, who returned to music-making after losing the use of her dominant hand due to the long-term effects of cancer treatment, on the one-handed recorder. 
• Rebekah Goulston, whose cerebral palsy affects her conventional playing of the instrument, on the one-handed flute. 
• French Horn player, conductor and teacher Chris Griffiths, who has the condition Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), using his specially designed French Horn stand, developed through an OHMI-supported innovation project.

The evening concluded with the massed ensemble of OHMI musicians and RBC students and alumni performing Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s ‘Make Your Own Kind of Music’, arranged for the occasion by OHMI Chair of Trustees, Clare Salters.
 
Speaking at the concert, The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zaker Choudhry said: “Speaking at the concert, The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Zaker Choudhry said: “Before tonight, I did not know about OHMI, and it was a wonderful event. I have seen so many talented people on stage, some playing with only one hand and the music they played was excellent. I would like to commend OHMI for organising the Celebration Concert and giving everyone an opportunity to see these marvellous musicians.”


Event organiser, Emma Brown, who is also a postgraduate research student at RBC and trustee of The OHMI Trust, said: “Everyone deserves the opportunity to play, create and perform music to the highest level and I’d like to thank the RBC for their support, and of course the talented performers and my wonderful peers from RBC who kindly donated their time to help put on this event. There are so many people who are passionate about musical inclusion, and it was wonderful to get them all together in this way.”
 
The concert was one of OHMI’s ‘15 for 15’ fundraising events where concert and ensemble performers are invited to support and raise awareness of OHMI’s valuable work through their own events over the course of OHMI’s anniversary year.

​Matt Shuttleworth is passionate about making music as accessible as possible. His PhD research project with The OHMI Trust aims to help disabled musicians and teachers to better understand the process of learning/relearning to play an adapted instrument. 
 
Learning an instrument as a motor-impaired musician  
 
Matt was born extremely prematurely, at 25 weeks. Two bleeds on the brain at birth resulted in Cerebral Palsy, which affects his walking; he walks with a slightly dropped foot and has no independent movement in three fingers on his left hand. Doctors advised his parents that he would be unable to walk, sit, run or jump. There was a similar lack of expectation once he started school; his teachers assumed his physical impairment would limit his capabilities.  
 
It wasn’t until a teacher noticed the potential in his interpretation of the old English poem, Beowulf that a move out of the bottom set was put in place. Once suitably challenged, he started to excel academically.  
 
Born into a musical family, it was in musical performance where Matt showed his earliest promise. He took up piano at the age of 5, drums at 11 and the guitar at 18. From his earliest music lessons, he found that the instruments were not fit for purpose. The acoustic guitar – built for right-handed players – was particularly problematic as a lack of dexterity in forming chords with his left hand meant Matt needed to play the instrument left-handed.  
 
Over the years, his music teachers helped him find new ways to play and Matt adapted his technique to find workarounds but was there a limit to what was possible? 
 
Whilst taking his Grade 1 in drumming at the age of 14, he was advised that the physical challenges of a higher grade would likely be impossible for him to overcome. That lack of belief in his capabilities only spurred him on and he has since achieved his Grade 8 and has taught privately. 
 
Matt’s First-Class Honours Degree in Theology, Music and Worship from the London School of Theology (2017-2020) and a Master’s degree in Music Production from the University of York (2021-2022) have led him to studying for a PhD. 
 
 
Working with The OHMI Trust  
 
In September 2026, Matt began a three-month research study alongside his PhD to explore the lived experiences of service users who are musicians who learned to play an instrument, acquired a disability, and have now relearned to play and/or are relearning or learning to play on an adapted instrument. 
 
His first objective was to attend The OHMI Trust's 15th anniversary concert on September 12th 2026 at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire to engage with a variety of users of adapted instruments, arrange follow-up interviews and examine some of the adapted instruments up close, in order to familiarise himself with the process of instrument design. 
 
The project will have a particular focus on the physiological and mental challenges of learning/relearning to play from the players’ perspective; as well as exploring the approaches used in adaptive instrument design by instrument manufacturers. It will offer insights from teachers who teach using adapted instruments. 
 
Matt said: “I’m a motor impaired musician who trained as a musician without knowing about instrument adaptations. I have a strong interest in making music as accessible as possible for others and am looking forward to increasing my knowledge of what is required to design, build, learn and teach students to play an adapted instrument and my understanding of the interplay between physical impairment, music and instrument design.” 
 
Observations from OHMI’s 15th Anniversary Concert from Matt’s Perspective 
 
“Prior to attending the concert and meeting a few of the participants, I did not know what to expect and what I experienced surpassed any expectations I had. Examining the intricate craftsmanship of the adapted instruments up close gave me a newfound appreciation for the ingenuity of the instrument makers and their ability to find innovative solutions in order to provide their clients with instruments that are fit for purpose and tailored to their requirements. Throughout the concert itself, I was continually blown away by the virtuosic playing of the performers and the bond that each of them had with their instrument. It felt as though each instrument was an extension of the individual playing it, and I left the event fully realising the meaning of the traditional proverb ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’. For me, notable highlights included the Flute and French Horn ensemble performance of Ferenc Farkas’ ‘Early Hungarian Dances from the 17th Century’, Freya Terris’ rendition of Alexander Scriabin’s ‘Nocturne for the left hand only’ and Edit Van der Burg’s interpretation of Génin’s ‘Carnival of Venice Op. 14’. The experience not only challenged my perception of what is possible but also whetted my appetite to explore the world of adapted instruments further and advance the work of the OHMI Trust.” 
 
Project outputs  
 

• A report detailing Matt’s research findings to help disabled musicians understand the process of learning/relearning to play an adapted instrument. 
• At least three case studies detailing the lived experiences of disabled musicians. 
• An academic article to a peer-reviewed journal, focused on the teaching aspect of adapted instruments. 

 
This research is being funded by White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (an AHRC-supported Doctoral Training Partnership of the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York). 

The OHMI Trust is marking its 15th year with a celebratory anniversary concert taking place on Saturday, 12th September 2026 at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The milestone event will bring together distinguished guests, supporters, artists, and friends to celebrate OHMI’s fifteen years of advancing inclusivity and excellence in music-making.
 
Musical instruments adapted for one-handed playing are notoriously more expensive to design and produce than their conventional counterparts. A hand-crafted, one-handed clarinet, for example, typically costs around £6,000. OHMI’s anniversary concert presents an opportunity to showcase the art of the possible through a vibrant mix of repertoire and styles performed by OHMI Music-Makers of all ages, using adapted instruments alongside RBC students and alumni.
 
Emma Brown, a postgraduate research student at RBC and trustee of The OHMI Trust, said: “What better way to reflect OHMI’s unwavering belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to play, create and perform music to the highest level than by holding a concert at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire! We’re thrilled to have the support of RBC who are as passionate as we are about inclusion, excellence and future-facing musical practice. I’ll be playing on the night alongside the OHMI Music-Makers to celebrate the musical achievements of some of the individuals who have been supported by OHMI over the years, as well as to raise awareness of the adapted instruments and enabling equipment on offer from the OHMI Instrument Hire Scheme.”
 
The concert is one of OHMI’s ‘15 for 15’ fundraising events where concert and ensemble performers are invited to support and raise awareness of OHMI’s valuable work through their own events.
 
Tickets for OHMI’s 15th anniversary celebration concert can be booked on the RBC website. 

Disabled children are being offered parity of access to music-making in Whole Class music lessons in a further three areas of England following OHMI’s successful application for Arts Council England funding.
 
The £48,137 grant will enable the charity to bring the OHMI Music-Makers Whole Class programme to schools via the Derby & Derbyshire Music Service, the Entrust Music Service in Staffordshire and Hounslow Music Service. The funding also secures the delivery of the programme for the same 2026-27 cycle with Bradford Music Service, Lincolnshire Music Service, Inspiring Music in Central Bedfordshire, Resonate in Liverpool, and Southampton and the Isle of Wight Music Service. It also allows OHMI to switch the production of one-handed flutes to the UK, including all that is necessary to move to a CNC manufacturing process.
 
Rachel Wolffsohn, General Manager at The OHMI Trust, said:
 
“We’re delighted that Arts Council England has once again recognised the value of the OHMI Music-Makers Whole Class programme. Their support means we can identify and assess individual needs of children with an upper limb absence, impairment or weakness and provide them with the instrument or equipment to match, as closely as possible, what is being taught to the rest of the class. Critically, this analysis is conducted before lessons begin so that all parties – the child, their teacher and the music service – are all well prepared by the time the first note is played.”
 
“We are also looking forward to bringing the one-handed flute production to the UK.  The developer of the instrument, Maarten Visser, is stepping back from making and has generously shared his designs.  Finding makers with the right skills to step into his big shoes is a challenge, but we are delighted to have found new makers to take this on.  They are going to rework the designs for CNC production in their workshop, which should bring benefits of speed and volume.”
 
More information on OHMI Music-Makers is available at: www.ohmi.org.uk/ohmi-music-makers.htm