This week, Live Music Now NI was delighted to host two events as part of our AHRC funded Musical Connections project.
On Monday 15th June, Live Music Now’s Northern Ireland musicians came together in The MAC Belfast for an Inclusive Music-Making with Autistic Learners training session, led by Dr Beth Pickard and Alex Lupo. The session introduced the core values, principles and approaches emerging from the Musical Connections research project, exploring how musicians can create safe, inclusive and meaningful musical experiences with autistic children and young people. Participants also reflected on their own practice and shared learning from their work across education settings.
On Tuesday 16th June, Live Music Now NI was delighted to host From Research to Practice: Music Access for Autistic Learners in NI at The MAC Belfast, bringing together researchers, educators, musicians, parents and sector colleagues to explore inclusive music-making for autistic children in Specialist Provision in Mainstream Schools.
The event shared emerging findings from the AHRC-funded Musical Connections project, a participatory action research collaboration exploring how autistic learners can access meaningful, high-quality musical experiences. Project researchers Dr Beth Pickard (University of South Wales) and Alex Lupo (Live Music Now) shared insights from 10-week musician residencies in Northern Ireland and Wales, alongside the project’s strength-based, pupil-led approach to music-making and research.
Attendees also heard from the musicians and teacher involved in the residency at St Dallan’s Primary School, Warrenpoint, through a panel discussion, and viewed our Musical Connections film, offering an up-close look at the creative practice, relationships and learning that developed through the project.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, contributed their perspectives and helped shape the discussion. As Musical Connections moves into its next phase, we look forward to building on these findings through the publication of practical resources in our toolkit, policy recommendations, and continued cross-sector collaboration to support more inclusive approaches to music education for autistic learners across Northern Ireland.
To learn more about the Musical Connections project, listen to the podcast – ‘Shared Notes: Autism and Music Education’, available on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon Music.
