Performance without Barriers research group, and currently Programme Manager at Drake Music NI. Koichi is a music researcher and electronic musician. He completed his PhD research on inclusive music in a collaborative study with Drake Music NI and Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queen's University Belfast. His current research and work focus now is in music and social inclusion, creative economy and music technology. Franziska Schroeder is the founder of the 'Performance without Barriers' research group, based at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Belfast. Funding for ongoing work has been received by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), allowing the group to benefit from PhD and post-doctoral researchers and to expand work into emerging technological fields.Franziska is a saxophonist, improviser and senior lecturer at Queen's University Belfast where she teaches digital performance, improvisation, and critical theories.
Performance without Barriers: improvisation and accessible digital musical instruments in inclusive music makingThe 'Performance without Barriers' 1 research group (PwB), based at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast has been exploring the potential of sonic arts practices and music improvisation for enhancing social inclusion. To date the group has primarily focussed on research activities related to the inclusive potential of providing access to music improvisation for people with physical disabilities via the use of digital technologies. In this paper we discuss the critical thinking behind our work which draws together the social and connective functions of music making, the open and relational practice of music improvisation and technological solutions utilising open, adaptable and accessible digital technologies. Three case studies of our work are discussed and the voices and experiences of participants in these projects are introduced.In this article we argue that activities in music improvisation have inclusive potential for opening constructive dialogues between performers, their instruments and people of different backgrounds and abilities. Furthermore, as we have approached our research activities reflexively, we reflect on the contradictions, dilemmas and points of learning we have discovered when engaging in collaborative and public engagement work between researchers working in a university context and the wider society.