Teachers keen to ensure full participation of all children in music-making are being invited to attend OHMI’s one-day teaching training course to help assess individual needs.
 
The CPD course, which will be held on 3rd April 2025, is being delivered in partnership with Birmingham City University (BCU) and takes place at their City South Campus in Edgbaston.
 
The latest statistics indicate that 11% of children in the UK[1] have a disability which may not always be obvious. The training helps to identify any barriers that might prevent a child from participating in music-making, including tasks to assess their ability to weight bear and explore their fine and gross motor skills and breath control. Teachers are also given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with kit to assess the physical needs of the children.
 
The training forms part of OHMI’s work in inclusive access to music-making and in sharing their years of experience so that local teachers and music services can serve the children in their area.
 
Mark Lowe, Music Inclusion Manager at Inspiring Music (the Music Service for Central Bedfordshire), said,
 
“I was aware of OHMI before I undertook the training but seeing for myself and learning from them was invaluable. The training was really accessible and delivered at an appropriate pace, and the most powerful takeaway from the day was the knowledge and confidence I gained to facilitate the physical assessments. Together with my new bag of tools, I’ve now undertaken twelve assessments. A really popular instrument amongst schools in our area is Djembe, a West African drum of significant size. Being able to source a stand to hold the weight of the instrument meant that a disabled child, previously unable to participate, was given the opportunity to play this wonderful instrument.”
 
Rachel Wolffsohn, OHMI’s General Manager, added,
 
“It’s our job to make sure teachers are fully aware of what’s on offer and to match a child with the right instruments and enabling equipment for their particular requirements. We often facilitate this through OHMI’s Instrument Hire Scheme which has nearly 400 musical instruments and pieces of enabling equipment, a number which we are constantly seeking to grow.
 
”Our training course gives teachers the practical information they need to better understand each individual child’s needs and the solutions available to support them – whether that be within a Whole Class teaching setting or elite ensemble. We’d like to encourage music teachers across the country to take up this training so that more disabled children can participate in music-making.”

[1] Parliament. House of Commons Library (2024). UK disability statistics: Prevalence and life experiences.
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9602/CBP-9602.pdf

Applications may be made at: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theohmitrust/1453003

OHMI’s major conference on Music & Physical Disability sponsored by ABRSM, taking place in Birmingham on Saturday, 15th and Sunday, 16th March 2025, is expected to attract musicians, music educators, instrument designers and instrument makers from across the globe.
 
The conference, which is being delivered 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 disabled musicians themselves as well as instrument makers, 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,
 
“Our 2025 Conference will be a truly international affair. We have speakers from the US, Australia, mainland Europe and the UK presenting their groundbreaking work. Our overarching themes, which include digital music solutions and music education, are designed to appeal to a range of delegates beyond professional musicians whatever their interest in full inclusion in music-making.”
 
James Risdon, Access Lead at headline sponsor ABRSM (The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) added,
 
“We recently announced our new exam repertoire lists for pianists playing with one hand at Grades 1 to 5. Featuring a broad range of music for left-and right-hand piano, including some exciting new commissions through our composer mentoring programme, this development has been made possible through the dedication of specialist consultants and the invaluable support of organisations such as OHMI. We're delighted to be headline sponsor for this important conference, which will help raise awareness of one-handed piano playing amongst both adults and children.”

Delegates at the conference will get the opportunity to hear internationally acclaimed classical pianist Nicholas McCarthy perform some of ABRSM’s new one-handed Performance Grade repertoire. The winners of the OHMI Competition awards – which are designed to stimulate further and more rapid developments over the coming years – will also be announced at the awards ceremony on the Saturday evening.  Our esteemed host for the OHMI Competition Awards ceremony will be singer-songwriter, actress, and presenter Toyah Willcox.

Tickets may be purchased on the OHMI Research Partnership website.
 
An Early Bird Discount rate of £200, for tickets offering full access to Saturday and Sunday of the conference and to the Awards ceremony on Saturday evening, is available until Friday, 14th February.

Instrument makers across the globe are being invited to enter OHMI’s latest competition for one-handed instruments and enabling apparatus for people with physical disabilities.
 
The OHMI Competition challenges instrument makers, designers and technicians to create and develop musical instruments that can be played without the use of one hand and arm. An adaptation of an existing instrument or a new design that emulates a traditional instrument are both acceptable and there are three categories:

• Playable instruments - A solution for an instrument commonly found in a musical ensemble (examples are orchestras, jazz bands, folk groups, or rock groups).
• Enabling apparatus - For apparatus (straps, stands, harnesses etc.) that make a traditional instrument playable for a specified disability.
• Concepts - For the most technically promising solution(s) to the challenges. 

 
Rachel Wolffsohn, General Manager of The OHMI Trust, said:
 
“Virtually no musical instrument can be played without ten highly dextrous fingers. It means that millions of people are denied participation in musical life, including people with congenital disabilities, amputees and those who may have been injured, suffered a stroke, developed arthritis or for whatever reason lack the full strength and control of their upper limbs.”
 
“The inventions of competition winners in the past have been truly transformative and we’re inviting designers and instrument makers – whether seasoned professionals, talented hobbyists or innovative students – to enter and help drive forward progress in accessible music-making.” 
 
More information about the application process, competition rules and previous winners can be accessed at OHMI Competition.
 
The deadline for entries is Tuesday 31st December at 5pm GMT.
 
Winners will be announced at OHMI’s Conference & Awards 2025. Taking place in Birmingham on the 15th and 16th March, in collaboration with Birmingham City University and Imperial College London, the event will explore the barriers faced by people with physical disabilities to music-making, from the design and ongoing production of instruments to wide-ranging issues around performing.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Mat Dalgleish is one of four new trustees to join the OHMI Board.
Born near Birmingham, Mat grew up playing the trumpet and, later, the guitar as a one-handed musician. Since January 2023, Mat has been a Senior Lecturer in Game Audio and Technical Design at Staffordshire University, where he leads the audio provision in the UK’s largest game development department. 
One of the key ways in which Mat expects to make a contribution in his role as OHMI trustee is helping to make the charity’s upcoming competition and 2025 conference the most successful to date. The competition is an important challenge for instrument makers, designers and technicians across the world to create and develop musical instruments that can be played without the use of one hand and arm.
Mat said,
“There have been so many technological advancements since the last OHMI conference in 2018. It’s exciting to think what might result from this year’s submissions and how it might create more choice of instruments for disabled musicians.
It’s really important to me that one-handed players, whatever their age, have agency in choosing their own instrument. As a six-year-old, the trumpet was chosen for me but the guitar turned out to be my real passion.
I was fortunate to progress on it quite quickly but playing the instrument one-handed has occasionally attracted hostility from some who think it should only be played in a traditional way, or by certain players. I really think design can mitigate some of the negative reactions disabled musicians face and look forward to seeing how the charity might challenge them.”
Clare Salters, OHMI’s Chair, added,
“Mat’s professional experience in instrument design combined with his personal experience as a one-handed musician will be a very welcome addition to the OHMI trustee board. We’re also delighted to have the opportunity to gain insights from his outreach work about how the music education sector - universities, music hubs, schools etc - can work together to make music more accessible.”
All at OHMI extend their warmest welcome to Mat.
 
(OHMI’s 2024 competition will be launched in December. Information will be added shortly to OHMI’s Competition page.)

We are delighted to announce that Simon King is one of four new trustees to join the OHMI Board.
Simon is a Chartered Accountant who has held governance, risk and assurance roles in both the public and private sectors. Before working with large corporate and public interest organisations, he had experience as both internal and external auditor for housing associations and charities. He has been a Trustee of an educational trust and is a senior civil servant.
As well as being a member of the main board of trustees, Simon will chair OHMI’s new Finance, Risk and Audit Committee. Comprising a small number of staff and trustees, the role of the new committee will be to provide detailed, expert advice to the board and support for staff in managing the charity’s finances.
Simon said,
“I have no background in music, teaching or disability so I guess I’m quite different to other OHMI trustees! What I think I can bring to the role is my ability to see things differently, inside the charity but outside. For my part, I don’t just want to give assurances that the finances are in good order; I also want to explore how I can raise funds myself and help bring new instruments to life as a result.”
Clare Salters, OHMI’s Chair, added,
“Simon has a wealth of experience of governance and risk in organisations significantly bigger than OHMI so we know there is a lot he can bring to the table. His external perspective will also provide a valuable challenge function for the rest of us. I am particularly grateful to him for chairing our new Finance, Risk and Audit Committee to ensure the trustees are fully across the detail of the charity's finances.”
All at OHMI extend their warmest welcome to Simon.