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“Sung in Polish, it’s an evocative work that brings both tears and joy, taking audiences on an uplifting journey through grief and solace”
Museum of the Moon by Luke Jerram, photograph by James Billings
“Paraorchestra is the only orchestra in the world that is a reflection of modern society. The starting point came for it when my youngest daughter was born with cerebral palsy. Very quickly it got me thinking, I’ve had a 30-year career conducting orchestras around the world and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of musicians who are disabled that I’ve encountered – it’s absurd, you can’t tell me that there aren’t millions of prodigiously gifted musicians who happen to identify as disabled. Where is their platform? Where is their voice? It’s not just that – of course it’s about equity – but it’s also about not missing out on talent. At the moment, we’re missing out on millions of talented people because we haven’t got a system in place which allows them to take part.” Hazlewood has carved a reputation as quite the maverick when it comes to mixing musical genres – pushing the creative boundaries in every way possible, to serve as a template for generations of forwardthinking artists, and inspiring elation. “The orchestral industry, as it currently is, is very much about the custodians of a tradition – and there’s nothing wrong with that – we all need our Brahms and our Beethoven – but at the same time there needs to be more forward thinking and forward moving. You show me any other kind of aspect of human experience that hasn’t continued to evolve with current technologies, and why would you want to miss out on the wonder of analogue synthesisers or digital instruments? It makes no sense. “The orchestra is alive and well in everyone’s living rooms if you think about it – all video games invariably have big orchestral backing, and all those movie scores. It’s just that people having a live experience of it is rare and there aren’t that many, perhaps – if you look at the population as whole – that will darken the door of the Royal Festival Hall and that’s a shame. We really hope we can bring about change.” In January of this year, Hazlewood became Sky Arts’ ambassador for music – one of five ambassadors appointed – which now marks Paraorchestra as the channel’s flagship orchestra. As part of this, Sky Arts will invest £60,000 over two years into the musicians. This has created a musicians-in-residence scheme that, under Hazlewood’s support and mentoring, enables Paraorchestra to cultivate some of the extraordinary D/deaf and disabled talent within the ensemble. “Sky Arts are doing what they can out in the communities,
catalysing change and inspiration and fresh possibilities so it seemed like a natural fit for me to take on an ambassadorial role, taking Paraorchestra with me. It will also give us an opportunity to reach out to people who may never come to one of our gigs.” Paraorchestra is always on the look-out for emerging talent and it is of utmost importance to support those joining the family. “Every 18 months to two years we do a musicians call-out, which is specifically for musicians who identify as disabled. Our most recent call gave us 12 new musicians so each time we’re adding more to our flock.” Charles Hazlewood will also be fronting a new series in 2022 exploring the 21st-century orchestra. “It will look at all the innovations that we have discovered are possible in terms of placing an orchestra front and centre, in real people’s lives, normal people’s lives, every person’s life,” says Hazlewood. n Symphony of Sorrowful Songs with Paraorchestra takes place on 8 December at 7.30pm at Bath Abbey; paraorchestra.com; tickets £25; book through bathfestivals.org.uk
Charles Hazlewood
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