Paraorchestra

Formed by conductor Charles Hazlewood in 2011, Paraorchestra is a daring collective of disabled and non-disabled musicians based in Bristol. Together, they question and shift the boundaries of music-making to create a platform that leads to better integration of disabled people into music and performing arts. 

Their ensemble makes use of electronics and modified instruments to that end, reworking pieces of established artists ranging from Kraftwerk to Beethoven or Terry Riley. Their performances offer accessibility in unconventional settings, playing carnival and immersive theatres, and breaking the barrier between audience and artists by making use of the non-conformity of their stages. The collective gained international allure as they played alongside Coldplay at the 2012 London Paralympics.

Paraorchestra’s music is heavily based on improvisation, which speaks of the individual styles of each artist. Not sticking to a set repertoire, their oeuvre aims to be a collective and shared project, displaying their shared sensitivity to eclecticism and experimentalism. The collective establishes that its whole can be even greater than the sum of its parts, bound by fierce ambition and musical bravery.