On Wednesday 19 October SoundCity came together with music hubs from Kent and Surrey to host the second regional ‘Breaking the Bubble’ conference, focused on progression in music for children and young people with Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND).
The event was held at Rich Mix, London with delegates travelling from across the UK to take part. The day began with an inspiring panel of young musicians talking about their experiences of music making featuring Mary Crawley from the UP! Orchestra and James Rose, a young conductor and composer.
Over 100 delegates took part in practical workshops to develop skills and share good practice in inclusive music making with workshops led by a range of experts in the field including SoundCity partners Red Zebra and Rhythmix. Adam Ockleford, Professor of Music at Roehampton University also gave a moving and insightful keynote speech. Adam gave many examples of his work in music with young people with SEND and spoke about how music was ‘perfect for interacting with people – articulating irony, humour or empathy when communication through words failed.’
Throughout the day children from schools across the Breaking the Bubble partnership took part in the ‘Creative Classroom’ with James Redwood and a team of music leaders to create an original piece called Our Big Day. The large music group included strings, brass, percussion and music technology and their fantastic performance was a highlight of the conference, demonstrating the power of music to bring people together, to create and share their talents.