If you have attended a session for the first time, we ask that if that you fill in a short questionnaire by clicking on the button below:
The founding principles of JOS underpin William Longden’s practice based research “Inclusive Creative Practices As Means Towards Personal And Social Wellbeing”, for which he was awarded a doctorate in January 2019.
Joy of Sound Instruments Gallery – JOS inclusive design instruments
String Instrument Variations: JOS’s wide ranging historical and contemporary image collection on Pinterest
JOS has also created below discussion space for a free exchange of thoughts and experiences. Please feel free to leave your comments and upload images.
Dear Joy of Sound
I did a fab workshop with you a few years ago and hope one day to do so again. I was particulary struck by the intruments which were made by a local group of retirees. Do you still work with them and can you give me their contact details? a husband of a friend would LOVE to be part of this making team
Two tourists sat in for an hour long session lead by William the white. Truly amazing to attend and watch him work the congregation in such a fine way! Love Peter and Åse Marie from Norway.
Hello, Last Tuesday (January 21), I attended a session at St Barnabas church and was really excited to see the inclusion of people with varied abilities expressing themselves through movement and music. The leader of the group, William, possesses a plenty of positive energy which unites all the participants and inspires them to show their talents. I believe, however, that William underestimates the importance of improvisation, trying to keep students “focused”. The joy of learning and communication stems in the freedom of expression – and not only this. More importantly, the performer needs to receive some kind of understanding from… Read more »
A truly powerful experience today at JOS! This is my first time volunteering and I am grateful to have witnessed such a transformative process. Everyone participated and joined in to create an ensemble of MAGIC! I was so moved by the energy in the room, everyone including the carers and volunteers also had the opportunity to contribute musically – this went beyond the notion of sound – it was freedom to be acknowledged, recognized, inspired and be fully expressive in a safe environment. The creative process involved allows our mind and bodies to expand in ways that we are not… Read more »
I came to a workshop for the first time at Vauxhall two weeks ago and found it a rewarding experience. I left with strong impressions, both musical and psychological. For a start I loved the way the instruments had been tuned. I picked up a guitar when I came in expecting to find it tuned to the usual notes (I had not at that point been introduced to the techniques used in this group) – and so I wondered what was the tuning about?! I was soon to discover how well this worked, and how creative the results could be… Read more »
The ‘Redmond Files’ compilation is up on the website now! It features tracks created by a whole range of musicians, sound artists and film makers using a workshop recorded at the Redmond Centre – the large group was boosted with opera singers, brass players and string players, so the resulting audio and video pieces have an incredibly rich pallette of linked sounds which each artist has taken and moulded and added their own twist
The video section of the website now has pretty much all our videos up. They span a dozen years and about the same number of countries featuring music, people, festivals, artworks, performances, workshops, travel and more …
Thanks to Alex Wilk for getting us modernised – great to see the new website up and running – everything is working, and now it’s down to some refinements, updating older material and uploading new pictures and stories.
Wonderful creative space allowing for exploration and expression on an individual, and collective level. ‘Hands-on’ physicality , in a safe and secure environment, gives the participants a unique sensory and auditory experience, this input must work through to a deeper psychological and synaptic level – ‘expressive vibrational healing’, might attempt to describe it. Facilitating such a group requires a range of techniques and abilities – Will and his long term volunteers illustrate what can truly be achieved given time and effort. They have created and developed ‘user-specific’ instruments, and continue to innovate their design and use .Every performance has its… Read more »
Hi Davie – thanks for your comments – I volunteer for JOS, so always good to get feedback – as you can tell we haven’t got the hang of new features like this page on the website, hence the delay in replying – we’ve only just got used to having facebook!
A highly rewarding musical and spatial experience !. I had the pleasure of participating in a recent JOY OF SOUND workshop in the ambient space of St Peters church in Vauxhall, and I offer my reflections. It is marvellous that the many differing abilities of the participants’ are given a creative space and the encouragement to express themselves through gestures, sound, movement,…all included in a medium where an ‘expressive healing vibration’ exists; hands on techniques explore a safe-zone physicality which so few of the less able ( wheel chair bound) participants rarely get to receive and interact with. Their uninhibited… Read more »
Hi Arnold – thanks for your comments – I volunteer for JOS, so always good to get feedback – as you can tell we haven’t got the hang of new features like this page on the website, hence the delay in replying – we’ve only just got used to having facebook!
I joined a Joy of Sound workshop at Chats Palace on Tuesday morning, and I’m all the better for it. I was asked along by student James Patterson, who has been attending sessions for a few months. You are immediately encouraged to enter into the spirit of the workshop upon entry. Grab an instrument and get involved. There must have been around 50 people taking part, and I think the size of the group allows people to leap out of their comfort zone. It’s amazing what playing an instrument (badly in my case) and singing (again…) can do to your… Read more »
Hi James – thanks for your comments – I volunteer for JOS, so always good to get feedback – as you can tell we haven’t got the hang of new features like this page on the website, hence the delay in replying – we’ve only just got used to having facebook!
It was great to be a part of the JOS Public Showcase and Album Launch Event. At very short notice I was welcomed back into the JOS fold and asked to be a part of the Operetta, which I thought we performed magnificently considering even right up to the last rehearsal new people were been added in true JOS inclusive style and spirit, making the performance one with our toes trembling in un-chartered exciting waters! I particularly liked singing in the male ‘illusions of grandeur’ scene and thought the female theatrical counter, a great bit of theatre indeed, not to… Read more »
Thanks to all at JOS for the Public Showcase and Launch Event. I thought the whole event was brilliant, moving, inspired and truly sensational with amazing spine-tingling performances from all the artists, the ‘ house band’ and the Redmond artists. I have followed your request as promised and been listening to my ( paid for) copy of the Redmond files all day today. The performance piece was electric, Pina Bausch would have been proud to produce such a work and the way you used the setting of St Georges created such an atmosphere. Vesna, your film: you know I loved… Read more »
Public Showcase and Launch event feedback. Hey jOS! The evening was lovely. Celebration in unity. The performace piece was great! Expressive, grotesque and moving. Also website looks amazing! And Vesna’s film was really enjoyable. Atmospher was friendly and open. Hope yoy made some moneys 😉 Organisationwise it would be good to have more ‘breathing’ space included in program. So there is more time for people to just chat about what was presented. Otherwise well organised and presented. As ever volunteers driving force is incredible! Thanks for invite.