The Ideas Fund

The Ideas Fund is an open-ended commission created to offer our musicians and composers the chance to intrepidly explore early-stage creative projects and ideas

It offers small grants of between £1000-£2000 to Paraorchestra musicians and composers who identify as D/deaf, disabled or neurodiverse, to get their creative ideas off the ground. It develops emergent creative ideas with live performance at their core and is delivered as part of Modulate, our Artist Development programme. 

After initially launching The Ideas Fund back in Spring 2024, we are delighted to be able to fund the creative projects of a further five Paraorchestra ensemble members in the second round this Autumn.

Read on to meet our five Ideas Fund recipients, whose projects range from Welsh folk song to CGI animation to queer love stories.

Ruth Potts

Ruth Potts is a Scottish violinist and singer based in Cardiff. She studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and enjoys touring in theatres in the UK and abroad as a cast member of ELO AGAIN and Fairytale of New York.

Ruth was initially awarded an Ideas Fund commission in the first round of applications, which took place in Spring 2024. We are excited to be able to continue supporting Ruth’s evolving creative project which is centred around exploring, collecting and arranging folk songs from the county of Caithness in the Scottish Highlands for accessible instruments. 

Ruth is looking forward to spending time with other members of Paraorchestra to develop her understanding of composing for their specific instruments and how to integrate them into an ensemble effectively. She is also looking forward to receiving mentoring in composition.  

Simone Seales

Simone is a musician and performing artist based in Glasgow who has collaborated with artists such as Rylan Gleave, Mele Broomes and RashDash Theatre. Simone’s Ideas Fund project sees them spend 2.5 days in a recording studio to develop their first poetry/music album Dearest, in collaboration with Scott Mclean and Mele Broomes. 

Simone’s Ideas Fund album is centred around their first queer love experience and explores themes of trauma and forgiveness. The literary element to Simone’s project explores and seeks to understand what happens when music is the driving force rather than the text, as is most often found in spoken-word albums. 

Rachel Starritt

Rachel Starritt is a pianist from Bridgend in South Wales and has been a member of Paraorchestra since September 2018. Rachel studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and has performed at venues and festivals such as St. David’s Cathedral, The Royal Opera House, Glastonbury festival and Brecon Jazz festival as well as internationally in Japan and Hong Kong. 

Rachel’s Ideas Fund project is all about making exciting new music with her Jazz trio. Rachel’s project is based on collaborative interaction using instruments and technology such as loop stations. It aims to allow each instrument in the trio to become independent of each other, eliminating specific instrumental roles. 

Rachel’s Ideas Fund project includes arrangements of Welsh folk material and hymns to show their pride in being Welsh, contributing to the rich musical history and unique culture of Wales. This project will culminate into a live performance at the Flute and Tankard in Cardiff, which will showcase the trio’s new material. 

Patrick Philip

Patrick Phillip joined Paraorchestra in 2019 after studying Classical Double Bass and Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since graduating, Patrick has performed with a number of orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic and was also appointed Musician in Residence for Paraorchestra in 2021. 

Patrick’s Ideas Fund project aims to tell a story through the use of double bass performance, music technology, CGI animation, visual effects, poetry and British Sign Language. 

Lila Bhattacherjee

Lila Bhattacherjee is a flautist, community musician and project manager from London. Lila studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (MMus Orchestral Performance) and University of Bristol (BA Music), before joining Paraorchestra in 2021. 

Lila’s Ideas Fund project revolves around the exploration of Indian classical music through taking bansuri lessons, as well as continuing to develop their playing on the alto flute.