BU Research Blog

On Friday 27^th March, the BUDI Orchestra gave a lively performance in the Atrium, Talbot Campus, performing well-known songs and pieces for our enjoyment. We were pleased to see so many staff and students stop to appreciate the Orchestra’s talents, some even singing and dancing along with the musicians.

The performance gave the BUDI Orchestra the opportunity to demonstrate all they have achieved in the last eight weeks as part of a wider project funded by Dorset County Council’s Inspired by 2012 Health and Wellbeing Legacy Fund. We were fortunate that a representative from the Fund could join us for the performance, allowing him to see first-hand what the support of the Dorset Legacy Fund has meant to this inspiring group of individuals, their families and even to the BUDI team.

On a personal note, as a Research Assistant who has worked closely on this project since October (and previous versions since February 2014), I have been struggling to put what I felt during their performance into words… something more than pride, more than happiness for their achievements, and more than the bittersweet knowledge that this may be their last performance due to lack of continuous funding. These are people that have come together and formed their own social community, not through the project per se, but through the bonds they have made with other people in a similar situation to their own, sharing their experiences as they learn to make music together. They, like us, have passion for their work and for the people they have met along the way, as anyone lucky enough to watch the performance would have witnessed. It has been an incredible privilege to be part of that.

Thank you to everyone that took the time to attend and celebrate this extraordinary group of people.