“Music has always meant community to me.”
— Laura Porter, founder of Now Hear This!
Practical Music Workshops
Now Hear This Music is a unique provision
offering accessible & inclusive practical music activities for all ages & all abilities.
A huge range of instruments is provided, including interactive assistive music technology, meaning that everyone in our community, regardless of ability, disability or impairment, will be able to join in with our collaborative music making activities.
Aims and Objectives
To facilitate and deliver inclusive and accessible practical music making opportunities.
To proactively seek to remove barriers to practical music making, as a means to strengthening communities.
To maintain a focus on collaborative music activity for improved wellbeing for all.
To include provision for:
people with disabilities & impairments, whether hidden or visible.
people with long term health conditions.
school children and care leavers, in particular those with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) and Autism.
people experiencing Social, Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH) challenges.
families with young children (ages 0-5).
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.
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! Practical Music Workshops.
Evidence confirms that making music together is a vital part of what it means to be human. Our brains are intrinsically, maybe uniquely, evolved to share a beat.
The power of music is not just a lucky miracle: it is essential to how our species has come together to survive this far.
Talking about Now Hear This! on BBC Radio Somerset.
“Really fun and informative. We aren’t musical at all and thought you taught things in a clear and understandable way ”
Claire G.
Laura has enjoyed performing professionally in swing bands, symphony and chamber orchestras, musical theatre and contemporary music. She is a founder of Bristol Woodwind Duo and of the Livas Quartet, with whom she organised international composition workshops and playing days, culminating in live performances of a number of original commissions at Bristol Beacon (formerly Colston Hall).
Laura has worked for county music services in the South West, music hubs, state and private schools, and has vast ensemble leadership experience in addition to her extensive experience as a private music teacher working with children and adults.
Professional Information
Laura Porter is a full member of the Independent Society of Musicians
Employers’, Public and Product Liability Insurance – Hencilla Canworth (ISM)
Enhanced DBS Clearance – Children & Vulnerable Adults – Online Update Service Subscribed
Child Protection Training (Renewed annually) with NSPCC:
Child Protection for Tutors
Protecting Children in Entertainment
Child Protection in Primary Schools
Safeguarding Children and Young People With SEND