Now Hear This Music C.I.C. is an inclusive
Creative Health & Music Education provision offering accessible music-making to people of all backgrounds, ages & abilities.
Led by lived experience, we prioritise meaningful levels of access, inclusion and autonomy in creativity and learning.
We provide expert led classes and workshops that everyone can participate in, regardless of ability or previous music experience, and provide a wide range of instruments chosen for their accessibility and flexibility.
Our structure, techniques and resources support every participant to make music and develop their musicianship, as well as other skills essential to collaboration and co-production.
Bespoke workshops, designed around specific needs, are offered in addition to our weekly activities.
We work with schools and alternative learning providers, and those supporting the wellbeing and social inclusion of disabled, vulnerable, and marginalised communities.
Our founder Laura Porter is a Creative Health practitioner and inclusion specialist with a professional background in music performance, teaching, and ethnomusicological research.
“My growing understanding of music’s importance has been accompanied by increasing awareness of the barriers to access faced by so many.
Sadly, the barriers are often highest for those who have most to gain and most to give by making music, especially with others. My ambition is to help break these barriers down with my Now Hear This Music project.
The benefits of music participation on wellbeing, mental health and other key social outcomes are well documented, but it is my first-hand experience after becoming disabled that confirms to me the value of this project.
Chronic pain forced me to stop working in music as I had done, but has also given me a more intimate knowledge of how important access to music is, and how many barriers block participation.
These workshops, and the experiences they draw on, allow me to return to musical work with an approach sharply focused on breaking down barriers and maximising participation for others within our community.”
Interview on BBC Radio Somerset.