Disability and music

Available for over a year

Photo: BYU Arts As part of the BBC's focus on disability this month, marking the 25th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act, Tom Service takes a look at how the music industry deals with disability. We hear from the celebrated American violinist Itzhak Perlman, who suffered from polio as a child, as he tells Tom about the need for the industry to adopt practices in favour of disabled musicians so that it becomes fairer and more inclusive in the future. We also eavesdrop on the 'Sound Voice' project, helping people with laryngectomy and motor neuron disease find their voices again. The CEO of 'Youth Music', Matt Griffiths, discusses their latest report which reveals how education is apparently failing disabled students who wish to break into the industry. And we hear about the experiences learned by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra during BSO Resound, their professional disabled-led ensemble. With a new lockdown beginning across England, we ask two institutions – English Touring Opera and the London Symphony Orchestra – how they’ll be affected by the changing landscape. And, as the American election reaches its climax, we ask what the results could mean for the country’s cultural and musical life.