ABLE Voices Ep 80: Clare Johnston

We are inviting disabled artists and arts educators to be guests and guest hosts on ABLE Voices. Today's guest host is Ben Lunn. Ben Lunn is a music composer, conductor, musicologist, teacher and associate artist for Drake Music and Drake Music Scotland. As a composer, Lunn’s music reflects the material world around him, connecting to his North-Eastern heritage or how disability impacts the world around him or his working-class upbringing. Alongside this, he has become renowned for his championship of others, which have seen him creating unique collaborations with musicians from across the globe and developing unique concert experiences and opportunities for others. Today, Ben will be speaking with Clare Johnston.Clare Johnston is a disabled-identifying composer, performer and music technologist. She grew up in the Abled youth music sector playing viola and recorder, but faced access barriers accessing the next level of music education. After a few career changes along the way, in 2009 Clare returned to her first love of music and music education. It is during her work with Drake Music Scotland that she started to experiment with music technology and fall in love with the possibilities offered by iPad apps to create good quality performances with a distinctly Disabled voice. Clare feels it is important for digital instruments to have their own unique voice and compositions which have been designed for their characteristics, and compositions often explore the differences and similarities with acoustic instruments and play to the strengths of each instrument.Follow Ben online:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blunnmusic/Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/benlunnmusicFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/benlunnmusic/Follow Clare online:Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rose-rodentFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarejohnstonmusic/Youtube: @clarejohnstonmusicThe ABLE Voices podcast is produced and edited by BIAAE Operations Coordinator, Daniel Martinez del Campo. The introduction music was written by Kai Levin and the ending song was written by Sebastian Batista. Kai and Sebastian are students in the Arts Education Programs at the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education.For more information about our programs visit us at https://college.berklee.edu/BIAAEFollow us for more weekly updates at:Instagram: @BIAAEFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/BIAAE