City of London Sinfonia explores neurodivergence with new commission

City of London Sinfonia will this month present the premiere of a specially commissioned work by composer Amble Skuse at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, the new work will focus on neurodivergent experiences and identity and will be performed at two concerts on 14 May.

Part of a collaboration with King’s College London, Divergent Sounds was created in partnership with a steering committee of neurodivergent people with an interest in collaborative and socially engaged projects. Following focus groups with the committee, Skuse teamed up with dramaturg and librettist Jen McGregor, to create musical soundscapes combining excerpts from these conversations with ‘musical interpretations of neurodivergent perceptions and experiences’.

Skuse said: ‘Being disabled and having some neurological differences myself, my brain has some of the intensities and disconnects which the interviewees talk about in the piece, so it really helped me to understand my own experiences and perspectives and bring this into my work. Working with Jen McGregor was fascinating as we had to work through all the interviews to find themes and work out how those themes could be presented to the audience in a form which would be engaging and take them on a journey.’

In consultation with the steering committee, City of London Sinfonia has made the event as inclusive as possible, providing a British Sign Language interpreter, quiet rooms (as the new work includes depictions of sensory overload), and additional venue and performance information to allow audience members to prepare for the experience. The concert will be recorded and will be available to view online from 16 May at the City of London Sinfonia website.

Dr Virginia Carter Leno, postdoctoral fellow at King’s College London and principal investigator for the Divergent Sounds project said: ‘I really hope these performances give people who want to know more about neurodiversity a sense of what the world can be like for neurodivergent people, and build understanding of all the different neurotypes in our society… I was especially keen to work with City of London Sinfonia given their interest and experience in collaborative projects focused on mental health and wellbeing, and the creative ways in which they engage their audiences. I hope audience members will leave feeling that they have learnt something about the concept of neurodiversity and the experiences of neurodivergent people.’