Inclusion, Equality and Diversity

From 2007 to 2011, Dr Oliver Searle, Lecturer in Composition at the Conservatoire was our MED-EL Post Doctoral Fellow in Composition

During Dr Searle’s fellowship, he worked on the following two public projects with MED-EL: The first project was a concert of live music (Noise Carriers) in the RSAMD Concert Hall, on the 14 ^th of February 2008, in front of an invited audience of adult Cochlear Implant users.

The second project was The Farmer’s Cheese, begun in 2008 and aimed at children with Cochlear Implants. This is a piece of music theatre, utilising a storybook by Geoff Plant and Jane Eldershaw as its starting point. There were four initial performances, between the Conservatoire and in the Scottish Storytelling Centre, in Edinburgh, in September, 2009.

Since the initial run of performances, The Farmer’s Cheese has been performed by the same group in Southampton, Halifax, Swansea, London, and on tour in the U.S. and South Africa. We completed the project with several sold-out performances in Glasgow’s Inspiration Festival (a children’s theatre festival in the City Halls), in November 2011.

Dr Searle has also spoken at many international conferences around Europe and the U.S. about his collaboration with MED-EL and his experience of music perception amongst cochlear implant users.

Both of the projects were recorded and are available as a CD/DVD from MED-EL.