Out of the blue

Overcoming exclusion through inclusion.

I am often exercised about what musical inclusion may mean, and much of it seems to be about working in with excluded children in dedicated discreet settings. I sometimes feel that the focus on exclusion can reinforce that exclusion, and where do excluded children and young people go after an intervention?  We need also to ensure that open settings are conducive to the needs of such children. This is something we like to do within Wren, combining it with our young music leadership programme.

I just want to share with you our experience of a few weeks ago, when some of our young music leaders went to help deliver some workshops at Bristol Old Vic. We had a good day, and on the way home the music leaders reflected on our need to get our instrumental and vocal young music leaders to work together more often, and other observations.

Then the following week we received a letter (see below).

Now, this little miracle came out of the blue, an unintended outcome of the event, and maybe all the more precious because of that. We had not gone to Bristol to work with excluded children, we had gone to run a musically excellent workshop day, but our way of working meant that we were inclusive and so we were able to achieve both.

Dear Paul and Becki,

Thank you both so, so much for today's workshop and concert - I have to admit, I wasn't sure how things were going to go when I arrived to find that I was already late!

I have never accepted Euan's autism as a reason for him to not at least attempt something. . . . From very early on, it was clear that music runs through his bones. His appetite for music is voracious and varies from Classic FM to punk to (most recently) folk and shanties. 

However, his inability to cope with large groups of people, to stay calm and to take instructions (he struggles to process them when there's a lot going on) is often enough to prohibit him from sticking with an activity or workshop-type experience

I tell you this because I want you to really understand the little miracle that happened today - the gift your workshop gave my son. Typically, when he gets overwhelmed (as he did during the instrumental rehearsal) he won't return to whatever he'd been doing, so to see him eager to return to the Studio once he'd calmed was quite something!

The, during the singing rehearsal, he decided to sing separately to me, with "the fellows" (as he put it). Again, this was remarkable - I've never seen him that confident and independent before. Typically, he would require someone to be with him, whispering to him to stay calm, to listen, to help him process and stay focussed. He managed that all by himself.

And then performance... oh my goodness! He's /always/ wanted to sing in front of an audience but, because of a number of barriers, it's just not something he's managed to do yet (unless you count me!). In spite of his excitement, his nerves, his only having learned the music a couple of hours before he got up, he calmed himself, he followed the words and the music - he was even able to watch Paul as he conducted.

Proud doesn't start to describe it. Astonished would be more like it. "Breakthrough" would be where I'd pitch it if I were just a touch more dramatic. What an amazing moment. What a fantastic, encouraging, self-confidence building for my son - who struggles with so much - to experience. And the roar and applause from everyone when we left was enough to leave him speechless and have me almost in tears.

Not many kids can boast that their first performance was in the Bristol Old Vic!

Music is a language we both speak . . . I think the moment has come for us to start joining our private musical language to that of others. Clearly he can handle group work, and I'd forgotten how deeply satisfying it is to sing in harmony with other people.

Thank you, for everything today. Moments like (this) are rare, fleeting and indescribably precious. Thank you so much - it means so much to both of us.

Hope to see you and your fabulously talented group of musicians again in Bristol in the future . . . It was a real pleasure to spend today in your company.