THE BRITISH PARAORCHESTRA
The British Paraorchestra ‘True Colors’ Featuring ParalympicsGB athletes & The Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf & Hearing Children
After inspiring millions of viewers around the world with a thrilling performance at the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, the British Paraorchestra, the world’s first ensemble of professional disabled musicians, is aiming to top the charts this Christmas with its heart-warming version of ‘True Colors’.
The single was released on Monday 3 December 2012 – the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The solo voice heard at the beginning and end of the track belongs to Lyn Levett, from the Paraorchestra. Lyn has cerebral palsy and cannot speak. With state-of-the-art technology she sings through her computer in True Colors, for the very first time.
Buy the single for just 79p here.
Watch the video:
The British Paraorchestra is the UK’s first orchestra featuring world-class musicians with disabilities, founded last year by Charles Hazlewood, also Creator of Orchestra in a Field.
Their debut appearance at Orchestra in a Field was included in the prestigious London 2012 Festival . The spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration ran from 21 June until 9 September 2012 and brought together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK. This was a great honour and a fantastic opportunity to introduce The British Paraorchestra and everything that it stands for to important new audiences.
“We are incredibly honoured by our inclusion in the London 2012 Festival, and see it as a great boost for the orchestra and the broader cause of creating a vitally-needed platform for prodigiously gifted musicians with a disability” says Hazlewood. “It has been an incredible journey getting to this point. In addition Channel Four has commissioned a major documentary on the creation of the group. This is incredibly exciting!”
“We’ve been knocking on a lot of doors, but finally a lot of doors are being thrown open. One thing that really helped was the endorsement we got from TED, the influential non-profit organisation that promotes ‘Ideas that are worth spreading’ (www.ted.com/talks).” They filmed a talk by Hazlewood introducing the Paraorchestra at TEDx Brussels which was posted on YouTube and subsequently ‘went viral’.
The British Paraorchestra’s performance at Orchestra in a Field on Sunday July 1st was just one of several top-class orchestras appearing at the festival. The Paraorchestra boasts an eclectic list of instruments and wide range of musical styles and influences: from drum and bass producers to baroque recorder; from lute players to sitar/tabla players; percussionists and impressionistic clarinettists. In some cases, new types of musical instruments have been designed to accommodate musicians’ disabilities.
For more information on The British Paraorchestra and to support their work please visit their official website www.paraorchestra.com
