I is for Innovation

Image caption: Zachariah (right), a student in Awatatpu College's Te Pūmanawa special needs unit, directs the band with the coloured dials on his wheelchair.

“It’s like music coming out of my fingers,” says Diamond, a student in Te Pūmanawa, the special needs unit of Awatapu College in Palmerston North.

Diamond is one of 22 students taking part in Chamber Music New Zealand’s The Big I programme, a one-day music and improvisation workshop for students with disabilities from special needs units and their mainstream peers.

With the “I” in the programme’s name standing for innovation and the empowering first-person pronoun at the same time, participating students learn to express their own unique musical voices, improvising together with support and guidance from professional musicians.

Joshua, a Te Pūmanawa student, enjoyed jamming with the electric guitar players while he was on drums. When he is asked whether he would recommend the programme to other students, he replies with an enthusiastic “Yes!”.

“It bridges a gap,” says Toby, a mainstream Awatapu music student who chose to be part of the programme. “Music is a universal language. Even if some of the [students] are non-verbal, or they can’t see, music is a language you can speak with them.”

His friend Andrew, whose brother is in Te Pūmanawa, says the experience has “reinforced [his] belief of music being not just a creative tool but something to bring people together.”

His favourite moment of the day was when everyone played together. “And when we did, it sounded like actual music.”

Now in its third year, The Big I uses music as a tool to empower collaboration between mainstream students and those with disabilities, encouraging them to build connections and a deeper understanding of each other.

It’s also a celebration of the inherent creativity in all the students.

“It’s amazing to see the students have a go at everything and their freedom of [expressing] how they feel and doing things they’ve never done before, and to be supported in that,” says Te Pūmanawa teacher aide Lee Healey. Over the break, her students expressed to her how much they were loving the programme.

One of the many highlights for her was seeing what her students could do, and to witness the mainstream music students working with each other to support those in Te Pūmanawa. “They’re all so talented.”

“The Big I is all about giving young people opportunities, especially those who may have never held an instrument before, to create music that is unique to them and expresses who they are," says violinist and CMNZ Community Engagement Artist Cathy Irons.

She says even though special needs units and mainstream students go to school on the same campus, they don’t often have contact with each other. The Big I is a fun, interactive programme that focuses on creating positive experiences for young people and letting them form new relationships through creating music together.

“Our hope is that, after we have left, the students will continue to grow their friendships and understanding of each other, taking this knowledge yet further into their adult lives.”

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We would like to thank the IHC Foundation for their support of The Big I in Palmerston North.

The Big I is just one of many projects under the umbrella of Chamber Music New Zealand’s Community Engagement Programme. Our generous donors and funders make meaningful projects like this possible.

It’s our goal that everyone, everywhere in Aotearoa can share the joy and transformative power of live music.

Whether it’s young people in rural communities, those living with chronic health conditions, or talented students taking their next steps into a musical career, our Community Engagement Programme creates space and opportunities for everyone to enjoy, express themselves, and connect through music.

You can help support and expand these projects so more people around the country can access excellent live music experiences.