The Masonic Charitable Foundation has donated £40,000 to Drake Music based in East London. The grant to fund the salary of the National Research and Development Manager to expand the DMLab programme to enable an estimated 75 disabled adults and 32 special needs school children to co-create musical instruments to fit their individual needs, working with the assistance of 70 specialist volunteers.

The charities aim is to increase participation in music-making at all levels and to break down disabling barriers using technology. Our vision is a world where disabled and non-disabled musicians work together as equals.

Chief Executive Carien Meijer said “We believe everyone has the right to express themselves creatively through music. We use innovative technologies and ideas to make writing and playing music more accessible. Disabled musicians are at the heart of our work, from teaching music workshops in mainstream and special schools to creating new opportunities for performance or testing out new music technology to see how accessible it is. We work strategically across the country to improve access to music for people of all ages and abilities.”