Portsmouth charity brings music to all

The Portsmouth Grammar School music community came together this academic year to raise money for a pioneering charity that is breaking down the barriers to music-making for physically disabled children and adults. When 19.2% of the Portsmouth population (2021 census) is disabled, higher than the England average, it seems more vital than ever. Mr Hemmings, Head of music at PGS, said that “OHMI does amazing work to bring music to all.”

In 2011, The OHMI Trust, a national disability charity, challenged leading instrument designers and engineers to design modified musical instruments that could still produce an orchestral quality sound. This is important because before the charity created this competition there were no instruments for people who did not have the use of two hands. Dr Stephen Hetherington (the founder of the charity) said, “Everyone deserves the opportunity to make music, not just those with two hands”.

These days OHMI does not just design new instruments but also manufactures them, teaches music teachers how to teach these modified instruments to others, and also pays for the music lessons for disabled children to learn to play them.

Lord Nash, member of the House of Lords, was reported saying the charity was “extraordinary and pioneering.”

Rowan, age 12, who is blind and needs a free hand so she can read her music written in Braille, was the first person to receive a specialised clarinet. She has now achieved her grade 2 and is working towards her grade 3.

The Portsmouth Grammar School is proud to have helped raise money for this charity and is hoping to have their able-bodied students play with some of the disabled musicians in the longer term.