George Higgs is awarded a Project Realisation award in the Arts Council’s Artist in the Community Scheme, managed by Create.

George Higgs has an unusual approach to the performance of his musical compositions, often creating his own instruments and performance machinery using both analogue and digital equipment. The Arts Council’s Artist in the Community scheme, managed by Create will enable George to work with students from St. Mary’s School for Deaf Girls in Dublin to develop the Ear Drum Ensemble. This innovative project will build on research and development work already undertaken by George earlier in the year, with the help of the Dublin Deaf Choir.

Central to this project is the exploration of ways for the students to interact musically. George plans to build new instruments with the girls that are artistically and technically innovative, while also suited to the student's needs. These instruments will allow the girls to express themselves most effectively. The composer will then create a composition for this electro acoustic ensemble informed by these young musicians. This piece will be performed for an invited audience in both St Mary's. School for Deaf Girls and the Contemporary Music Centre in May, 2011.

The participants will come from both the primary school (known as The Marian School) and the secondary school. These girls have been working with music teacher Margaret Farrell for the past number of years with both percussion and keyboard instruments. They have explored essential rhythm and time-keeping in groups, and have achieved a very impressive level on their instruments. They do so with the use of the hearing they still possess (many deaf people have some residual hearing, varying from person to person), but also by feeling the sound and watching their fellow musicians carefully. These are the same techniques that all truly good musicians use. They are capable, with more direction, of becoming a very effective music ensemble.

The Contemporary Music Centre will document the project, maintaining a section on the website to track its progress and providing continual support to the composer throughout the duration of the project. George Higgs is very clear about his objectives:

“My ambition is that some, if not all of the participants, go on to become great musicians and share their special talents with the world throughout their lives.”