About
“Ben is empathetic and collaborative. He brings creative flair, passion and a real breadth and depth of experience to everything he does.”
Carien Meijer, Drake Music
At the heart of my work is a commitment to use music to catalyse change at personal, community and societal levels.
My study of Ethnomusicology at SOAS, University of London, helped me to understand the multiple levels of function and meaning in diverse music-making spaces. My workshop teeth were cut in the Rhythms of Resistance Samba movement, working with migrant worker unions and refugee communities in London.
My focus on young people with additional learning and access needs developed through Drake Music, where I have been an Associate Musician since 2012. It became clear that, in order to embed change, training was needed for both generalist classroom teachers and instrumental teachers in inclusive practice and the effective use of technology.
In response, I co-founded Transformance Music and authored the ‘Teaching Music with Garageband for iPad’, a textbook and video series that is now used by hundreds of teachers across five continents. I have created teaching resources for Charanga, Sing Up! and Music Teacher Magazine and curated the 2023 ‘New Directions in Inclusive Music’ seminar series for Musicmark and the UpRising Balloon.
Since 2019 I have been working closely with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra to develop their education offer and nurture a team of practitioners and culture of inclusive music-making in Kawasaki City, Japan. In 2024 I co-led a project to train musicians and social workers in community music practice in areas of eastern Turkey affected by the 2023 earthquake. I have also led training in Germany and the USA.
Since 2020 I have led the MEHEM UpRising project, a multi-award winning Youth Music funded programme to increase the quality and consistency of inclusive provision across the East Midlands. I also worked with Lancashire Music Hub to launch the UK’s first Accessible Technology Library.
I completed an MA Education in 2024 at Birmingham City University that culminated in a research project on the use of Augmented Reality in piano tuition, in collaboration with the Royal College of Music.
I very much enjoy mentoring/coaching fellow practitioners, including as part of the Bristol Beacon CME and Live Music Now. I am a trustee of Advocacy Alliance and sit on the BLMK Music Hub Oversight Committee.
