This R&D project brings together distinct strands of my creative practice and translates them into an immersive digital context. My work with contemporary composers, including Kerry Andrew, has reshaped my understanding of community participants not simply as workshop attendees, but as artistic collaborators whose sounds and experiences can shape composition itself. Hearing the sonic material from our workshops transformed into the emotional landscape of The Sky Begins to Change fundamentally shifted my approach to authorship and participation.

The “Hello Song” marked my first deliberate exploration of using non-verbal vocalisations from disabled pupils as compositional material. In subsequent Soundscapes workshops, these sounds have been integrated with structured improvisation to create immersive, participatory sound environments.

This R&D builds on that foundation by combining immersive technology, inclusive practice, and compositional development. It seeks to elevate disabled community participants from contributors to recognised performers, conductors and co-composers within a digitally expanded performance environment, directly addressing questions of access, authorship and representation explored throughout this proposal.