About Joy of Sound

"It's not just about meeting the basic needs of your wonderful group. It is about giving them a real quality of life, a real respect of their individuality and of what they can give and teach us."

Becci Fryatt LVAC

"Seeing so many people, actually everybody in the room, smiling and joining in is what I'll remember most about the session. It was refreshing and everybody felt equal."

Genna Long, Support worker

Foundations

The inspiration for Joy Of Sound came from a chance meeting between JOS founder, William Longden, and Derek, a young man with profound and multiple learning difficulties.

Derek was trying to play a very battered guitar that was not really functional. William offered Derek his own guitar, while he played a wooden flute. Suddenly there was an intense and joyful musical connection that happened without words.

It was clear that Derek could share music given the opportunity and a viable instrument - he simply needed an instrument specially made to suit his unique requirements.

It was then that William realised that simply providing usable instruments and accessible workshops could create the opportunity for everybody and anybody to share in music making.

This experience became the inspiration for this ground-breaking project that enables people with multiple disabilities, carers, volunteer musicians and artists, and all-comers, to make music together on an equal and inclusive basis, where there is a shared responsibility for success. This is fundamental to the JOS ethos.

JOS commissioned and had made a number of inclusively designed bespoke instruments, including Derek's guitar and wheelchair presentable marimba and zither. These provide access for people whose participation in playing music would otherwise be limited.

In May 2009 JOS held a day long event at St Peters Heritage Centre in Vauxhall to announce and celebrate the achievement of Registered Charity status.

Who We Facilitate
JOS has facilitated thousands of individuals with differing needs over the last seven years and estimate 70% being from BME communities and over 30% being wheelchair users.

Typically the professionals around marginalised people are solely employed in care provision and family members who care are offered respite away from relatives. JOS workshops offer a different type of interaction and connection for co-learners and staff and a collective rest for family members and carers.

As we grow JOS are looking to pilot and roll-out workshops to other marginalised groups. Initially we see ‘the elderly’, ‘refugees’, ‘excluded / transitional children’ and ‘children with SEN’ as areas for potential group development, but we willing and able to undertake workshops with anybody.

Partners
JOS has worked alongside the staff and service users of Lambeth Walk Day Centre since beginning. The relationship has been one of mutual exchange and support; the knowledge, skills and experience of everyone from Lambeth Walk has been as important as that of JOS volunteers. This has led us to use the term ‘co-learner’ to describe all participants of JOS workshops.

St Peter’s Heritage Centre has been our home for many years, and this superb space along with incredible support from the current and previous vicar as been enormously important to the project.

Our past collaborations include events with Landmark, Lisson Grove Centres, Livity School, Croydon Voluntary Services, Entelechy Arts Ambient Jam, The Drake Project, Roots and Shoots, Octopus Club, 'Divaldo z Pasaze' from Slovakia, music students from Bjelovar, Croatia, and this Christmas facilitated children, their carers and families and all ages and abilities of passer-by at Croydon Clocktower for Croydon Council.

International Work
Following visits to Slovakia's 'Divaldo z Pasaze' and sessions with music students from Bjelovar, Croatia, our work in Eastern Europe has continued with a week of workshops in Poland in 2009, and work in Sarajevo.

A team of 6 made the trip to Warsaw to facilitate a week of workshops fas part of an arts event 'Strefa Otwarta' ('Open Zone'). A series of workshops were hosted by a local day centre and Dom Kultury Rakoviec.

In Sarajevo a team of three ran a workshop for local disability groups, with students from the Sarajevo Academy Design department, Musicians Without Borders and others attending.

Our innovative portfolio of instruments, funded by the Millennium Awards Scheme, are designed and manufactured through developing and facilitating relationships between co-learners, their families and key-workers, and instrument makers (postgraduate students in Design Research for Disability at London Metropolitan University as well as master instrument makers)

Supporters
JOS has been supported in our work by Lambeth Voluntary Action Council, Awards For All, Millennium Awards Scheme, Lambeth Endowed Charities, Connecting Communities Plus, the Arts Council, and Goldsmiths University.

We received Arts and Humanities Research Council funding to investigate the inclusive design of acoustic musical instruments by JOS and partners.

Awards
JOS won the 2008 London Health Commission award for Mental-Health and Well-Being, and used some of that funding for staff and volunteer development

In 2009 JOS won the VolontEurope 'Active Citizens of Europe' Award, recognising the outstanding input that JOS has had from over 700 volunteers during it's first decade. Three of the JOS team visited Sarajevo to attend a conference and the award ceremony.

Projects
We have just completed our first training course and extended our work to more Day Centres across South East London thanks to the grant from the Community Development Foundation. The project will culminate in a public concert and production of a 'Best Practice Guide' for training purposes.

A commission for 6 new bespoke instruments from the Kensington and Chelsea Day Centre is now at the end of it's initial phase. Meanwhile, work has begun on a second instrument commissioning project, this time for 6 recipients in Lambeth and funded by Arts Council England.

Our Future
JOS blurs the boundaries between volunteer, co-learner, and carer, facilitating access to the communicative, cathartic and transformative possibilities of the arts. We have been growing exponentially and hope to reach thousands more individuals through hundreds of workshops and events over the next three years.

Applications are in progress for new funding for instruments and research from the Arts Council and the Big Lottery Fund.

Supported by:

Awards for All logo