Musicians in Residence
Paraorchestra exists to push the boundaries of what orchestral music can be with artistic work that is ambitious, innovative, and inclusive. Our Musician in Residence programme is fuelled by the same creative ambition, offering a unique opportunity for our musicians to consider their work as artists and to develop their own ideas of what live music can be for a 21st-century musician.

Every step of the journey I’ve been inspired by new things and found new paths to explore. The possibilities of the residency are seemingly endless. I’m always coming to meetings with some wild new idea and it’s just so amazing to be funded to work with people who can say ‘Sure! Let’s find a way together to make that happen!”
Tilly Chester, Musician in Residence, 2021-22
The programme was created in recognition of a lack of professional support and development opportunities for musicians identifying as D/deaf, disabled, or neurodiverse and offers an entirely unique model of professional development for music-makers within our existing pool of musicians to develop and grow their practice.
Thanks to a bursary from Sky Arts, the programmes offers a paid, 12 month residency providing dedicated time, resource, and mentorship from our Artistic Director, Charles Hazlewood, and the wider team.
I feel like I’ve learned so much about myself as both an artist and a person over the course of the residency, which is crucial at this early stage of my career. That knowledge pertaining to how I work, the things that have inhibited me in previous collaborations, and the surroundings I need to create to contribute properly will carry me through this residency and into future projects. It’s been an incredibly healing and affirming time, in a lot of ways”
Rylan Gleave, Musician in Residence, 2022-23
Launched in May 2021, Sky Arts’ support has facilitated two years of the residency and it is our hope that we may continue to support and develop a regular residency programme after 2023 as part of a wider scheme of professional artist development.
Meet our Musicians in Residence
Click the links below for more on our musicians’ individual residencies.
2022-2023

Hattie switches out her cello to spend 12 months developing her practice as a smallpiper, with the aim of exploiting their potential use in contemporary ensembles and contexts

Rylan is focussing on finetuning a broad framework of skills - including vocals, composition, and movement - required to enrich his Requiem-inspired album
2021-2022

Tilly's residency saw her combining viola and violin playing with composition for electronic music and aerial performance

Drummer and percussionist Jonny focussed on developing more accessible ways of sightreading and composing

Patrick spent his year on composition for double bass, focussing on on expanding it repertoire and exploring new ways of exploiting its rich sound