Drake Music

Drake Music is a leading national organisation working at the intersection of Music, Disability and Technology.  We are innovators, educators, curators and advocates, working towards equal access to music making for all. We are a team of Disabled and non-disabled professionals, musicians and technologists working together towards a more open and inclusive music sector.

Music is at the heart of everything we do and the Social Model of Disability shapes our thinking and informs our practice. We work with disabled musicians of all ages to break down disabling barriers to music, from school children playing their first musical notes, to professional musicians developing new commissions.  Our work covers music education, research and development of new accessible instruments and artistic development and creative collaborations.

Our Think22 progamme will involve all the above areas of specialism, working with partners in the music education sector to model, develop, amplify, advocate for and share good practice with a focus on working closely with Music Education Hubs and other key stakeholders. Throughout the programme will be an emphasis on Youth Voice which will see young disabled people centre-stage & taking the lead: informing, driving and leading change and advocating for fully accessible, inclusive music-making opportunities.
 
The Think22 Programme has 3 overlapping strands of activity:

1. Advocacy and Campaigning – We will continue to advocate for a diverse, inclusive music education sector, including a workforce with greater representation of disabled people at all levels. We will support and amplify the voice of disabled children and young people and campaign for progression pathways and leadership opportunities.
    
2. Workforce Development – We will work with a network of music leaders, schools and hub staff to increase the opportunities for training, knowledge & resource exchange and peer-learning, with the aim of reducing isolation and increasing capacity to deliver musically inclusive initiatives. We are also developing Disabled musicians as leaders, facilitators and trainers, ready to work within the music industry broadly, and education, specifically.
    
3. Musical Delivery – Our activity will focus on working with disabled children and young people in both formal and informal education settings, in partnership with education professionals, artists, musicians and MeH teams. This will include delivering Compose & Perform, our accessible, accredited qualification, inclusive ensembles and progression & leadership opportunities for young musicians.

Our core strategic partners are:

• Essex Music Education Hub
• Newham Music
• Coventry Music Education Hub
• THAMES (Tower Hamlets Music Education Hub)

Other strategic partners include Sound Connections, Bristol Plays Music, More Music, Live Music Now and Open Up.

However, our programme is already reaching beyond these partners, with delivery activity in the year three with hubs and their partners in Doncaster Hub, Trinity Laban, Norwich Music Hub, Thurrock Music Education Hub, Live Music Now and Sound Connection.

Also, we are regularly developing and sharing resources that support the music education workforce and share practice more widely:

• Inclusive Teachers and Music Leaders Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/inclusivemusicteachersleadersUK/
• The Short Guide to Accessible Music Education, created with Drake Music Scotland and MEC - http://www.drakemusic.org/news/the-short-guide-to-accessible-music-education-out-now/
• We All Make Music Guide, which is in response to the Report we published on the underrepresentation of disabled people in the music education sector workforce, and aims to give guidance on ways to address this imbalance, based on our experience and learning - http://www.drakemusic.org/news/released-we-all-make-music-guide/
• Our regularly updated blog with lots of useful resources. 
• Inclusive Music Practice Paper
• Using iPads for Music