The Great Little Orchestra Project Wins National Award
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
MEHEM UpRising’s Great Little Orchestra Project has won the Music and Drama Education Rocksteady Award for Progressive and Inclusive Music Education 2026.
The project, a partnership between Music Education Hub East Midlands and MishMash Productions, brought together twelve young orchestral musicians to make music with pupils in special education schools across the region. There were two key aims of the project: firstly, to inspire the next generation of inclusive practitioners, and secondly to break down institutional barriers between disabled and non-disabled young people in the education system. This short film documents the project journey
The award judges were impressed by how the project embedded accessibility and inclusivity at the heart of training. They felt that its scalable, future-facing model showed clear long-term impact, with potential to be rolled out across music services and to inspire young musicians through meaningful, inclusive music-making.
Project co-lead Ben Sellers commented: “The young people we work with have been nurtured for many years within their own hub ensemble pathways, and the success of the project rests on many thousands of hours of guidance from teaching teams across the East Midlands. It was a joy to be able to provide a platform for them to share their skills and passions with a new set of collaborators with Oakfield, Woodlands and Eresby specialist schools. We are delighted to have won, especially within a shortlist of so many fantastic projects happening across the country.”
The project ran in both 2024 and 2025, with participants from both years going on to do longer-term placements in special schools and undertake training in music therapy. The project team now hope to secure funding to develop the project in 2027 and beyond.
