At only nineteen Lloyd Coleman is a successful musician and is currently composing a piece of music for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales to be played at the 2012 Olympics. Lloyd was born with Nystagmus and photophobia, and also has a hearing impairment. He tells us about his inspiration and achievements...
Lloyd's story:
Can you tell us how your love of music started?
I have loved music since I can remember. My parents tell me that even when I was a young child, I used to sing nursery rhymes exactly in tune, which was more surprising to them because later during my infancy I was diagnosed with hearing loss. As a child I had a fascination with the piano. I started taking piano lessons and almost instantly knew that I wanted to do music for the rest of my life. I also learnt the clarinet and saxophone. I reached distinction grade eight on all three instruments by the time I was 14, and I was in the National Youth Orchestra.
I began my music career at the Chetham School of Music in Manchester - one of the most prestigious schools in the country with students from all over the world. While there I was able to develop into a more mature musician and composing became my predominant area of study. I was also Head boy at the school and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. I was thrilled to start my higher education last year at the Royal Academy of Music and I will be in London for the next four years, studying composition. It's a wonderful opportunity to interact with the other musicians and fantastic teachers there.
Have you found that your visual impairment has affected your musical studies?
Absolutely not at all. Obviously, in terms of practical support, measures were put in place for me, and I asked for help when I needed it - for instance enlarging sheet music and being allowed extra time in exams.
Generally in my education I haven't been treated any differently to anyone else, and I'm very grateful for that. I was treated exactly how I wanted to be treated - first as a person and musician before any of my disabilities came into the equation.
Do you make use of any access technology?
For study I have a magnifying device connected to a monitor on my desk. This has made accessing scores a lot easier, as some can be minute. For performing, when conducting music, I don't have it modified in any way and tend to manage with the score on the music stand. I like to think I know the score well enough by that point and use it merely as a reference.
I've read about a band conductor in America who is completely blind. He memorises his scores and is able to detect any wrong notes or mistakes that have been made by the players immediately. That is much more efficient than turning the score pages, locating the music and reading out the bar number. That's an example where you can use a disability to your advantage. In my musical learning I depend on my memory more than others might, but as I have some sight I tend to use a combination of methods.
Tell us about performing at the Royal Albert Hall? It must have been a milestone in your musical career!
Yes absolutely, it was tremendous. I played with the National Youth orchestra for Great Britain, which I was in for two years before I stopped to concentrate on my A levels. At the end of each year we were invited to perform for the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, which was broadcast on Radio 3 and BBC 2, live. It is the best concert that I have done to date, and inspiring both in terms of the musical content and the atmosphere. The Proms really has a unique atmosphere with performers and audience alike having such a passion for classical music. Despite the enormous size of the venue, it still manages to exude a sense of community and warmth. I hope that one day I will be able to return as a composer or conductor!
Tell us about being asked to write a piece of music for the 2012 Olympics.
That was through UCAN productions - an organisation giving children with visual impairments in Wales access to the arts, and supported by RNIB Cymru. I'm chairperson for the young person steering committee. Our development manager managed to secure funding to commission the piece of music. I'm currently in the process of writing it ...half of the piece will be performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at St Davies Hall in Cardiff, and we hope that the rest of the piece can be performed later on in the year as we approach the Olympics and the Paralympics. This will be my first big gig as a composer and is a massive deal for me. It's a public concert with a huge audience and a professional orchestra, so I'm very excited about it.
In composing the piece, I took inspiration from the legend of Pheidippides, the Greek herald who ran across Greece when he was sent to recruit an army. This story helped inspire the modern-day marathon. My piece will be called 'Breaking the wall', a reference to the running term 'hitting a wall' - a state of extreme fatigue, where you achieve the vital break-through. This 'wall' also represents the many personal obstacles disabled people have to face every day of their lives. I find it tremendously inspiring that so many do overcome these barriers in the most positive of ways and I wanted to reflect this 'can do' approach through the piece.
You have been working with a mentor on your Olympic piece, what has that been like?
Yes, I'm working with Larry Ashmore; he's an orchestrator who has worked with the film composer Patrick Doyle on films such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Bridget Jones's Diary and Gosford Park. He is also a brilliant former double-bass player, working with many of the London Symphony Orchestras and great conductors of the 20th century. I thoroughly enjoyed going over to Larry's for tea to work on 'Breaking the wall'. He is full of fantastic anecdotes and advice - we have a really constructive relationship. Being still quite young, it is great to have a mentor (and to have the support of organisations like UCAN) as I start my career.
How important have you found it to be open about your disability in your musical career so far? And what reaction have others had to it?
Personally I feel that it is absolutely irrelevant. I do not want to be seen as Lloyd Coleman the visually impaired and deaf musician, I want to be seen as just a musician. Sometimes the media will play on disability way too much, so I have to be careful in terms of managing my career to project myself in the way I want to be seen, and not as someone 'cashing in' on the disability card. I have had articles written about me that have centred on the disability unnecessarily and my musical achievements are completely overshadowed by them labelling me. That can be annoying, but I'm not going to let it get me down. I'll just be more media-aware in the future.
What advice would you give to blind or partially sighted young people wanting to get into music?
Don't let your disability hold you back at all - there is plenty of support out there. RNIB, I can comfortably say, is a fantastic resource and has a fantastic music department, run by very experienced people with loads of advice and resources. If you want to be a musician, then go for it and focus on being the best you can be, not on the things that you might struggle with at first. The difficulties will sort themselves out as you go along.
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Further information
UCAN Productions is a not for profit cooperative which aims to increase opportunities for visually impaired young people to participate in the arts. Visit Ucan productions for more information.
RNIB's Music Advisory Service supports people with sight problems in any aspect of music. It offers information and advice on music education at all levels, from the earliest signs of interest to advanced studies.
This inspiring article was first published in Insight magazine.