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​OHMI referenced in Classical Music magazine

Classical Music reports on Making Music's new inclusion-focus programme Making Music: INCLUDE, of which OHMI's General Manager is a part.

​OHMI and the Hackcessible Challenge feature in Sheffield's The Star newspaper

The article reports on the news that OHMI's challenge of an adapted drum kit for wheelchair users was crowned winner at the 2022 Hackcessible competition.

​OHMI features in Clarinet and Saxophone Magazine 

There are lots of elements to consider when bringing a commercially viable one-handed musical instrument to market. OHMI's General Manager, Rachel Wolffsohn, has written a piece about how the Accessible Instrument Challenge is helping bring to life the one-handed clarinet.

​OHMI makes the front page of Music Teacher Magazine 

There are more than 40 conditions that can affect hands. Add to that, the choice of instruments that are available, and there’s lots to consider when finding an adapted instrument that meets the exact needs of the musician. That’s a challenge we were able to highlight when we were interviewed for the December 2021 issue of Music Teacher Magazine.  

​OHMI features in The House magazine

What needs to change in order to enable those living with disability to participate fully in music-making? It’s a subject our Chair, Dr Stephen Hetherington MBE, discusses in his article in The House magazine, a publication delivered directly into the pigeonholes of MPs and peers every week.

​Creative United join forces with The OHMI Trust

​We are collaborating with Creative United, Drake Music and OpenUp Music to help tackle the crisis in music education, calling on the government to help at least 25,000 families over the next 4 years and to provide musical instruments for both disabled and non-disabled children and young people across the country. Read the full article music:ed article.

​Guy and Duncan Menzies pBrock Bagpipes feature on BBC Breakfast

Featuring the story of 10 year-old Guy and one handed bagpipe maker Duncan Menzies. Listen to BBC Breakfast's coverage of OHMI.

Radio 4's Today programme and Radio 3's In Tune 

In light of OHMI's debate at the House of Lords about the government's failure to deliver their pledge to music education for disabled children, we received some high profile press. The Today programme interviews Lord Lipsey and OHMI ambassador Nicholas McCarthy. In Tune spoke with Lord Lipsey and OHMI founder Stephen Hetherington. 

​Hyperallergic interview

OHMI founder Stephen Hetherington’s interview with the online arts publication.

​BBC News interview

BBC interview with OHMI founder, Stephen Hetherington and his daughter Amy.  The segment  also discusses the OHMI competition with the CBSO (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra), and features one potential competition entry.

Music Matters - BBC Radio 3

Radio interview with Stephen Hetherington. Listen to OHMI’s interview with BBC Radio 3.

​A short film by My-Breath-My-Music, made in collaboration with OHMI

OHMI held a fundraising event at the home of the  City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. As part of the evening, we showed a special video made together with the Dutch foundation, My Breath My Music, that brought  together three disabled musicians with members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. It points to the great possibilities that OHMI is working to achieve as well as some of the problems we face.

The Independent by Tom Sutcliffe

All being well there's a man on a bicycle somewhere between Cherbourg and the village of Montsurvent today – not part of the Tour, but raising money for the OHMI Project, an intriguing competition that is intended to encourage the creation of a one-handed instrument that can emulate any of those used in the classical orchestra. And don't say "well, we've already got the triangle" because as one of the rules explains qualifying instruments must be tunable and "capable of playing complex melodies". Don't say "trumpet" either, because you'd need some form of support, and a winning entry would have to be playable using only one hand and arm, excluding the shoulder.

​The instrument would also have to have had a concerto composed for it, which has already been performed. In other words, what's sought is a synthesised version of an orchestral instrument that would allow a one-armed or one-handed player of sufficient skill "undifferentiated participation" in orchestral performance. The man on the bicycle is Stephen Hetherington, who came up with the idea and persuaded the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Prix Ars Electronica, among others, to support it. If you want to give the project, and him, a bit of a following wind check out the project website.

Donate to OHMI

There are so many disabled people who are desperate to play music with their peers. We can help to make that happen – but we can only do that with the wonderful support of our funders and donors.

As our instruments have to be hand-made by experts, they can only be produced in small numbers and are therefore expensive.
Every little really does help.

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You can also write to us: The OHMI Trust, ​29 Woodbourne Road, ​Harborne, Birmingham B17 8BY​

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The OHMI Trust is a registered charity (Registered in England and Wales Charity No. 1143623,  Scotland Charity No. SC052047).
​Registered office: 29 Woodbourne Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 8BY