5th February 2025

Rise and Drop a Beat

2024 was been a big year for OmniMusic. One of the most exciting projects we worked on, and our biggest project to date, was Rise.  

As part of the Stockport Town of Culture Weekender celebration, we transformed the lifts at the heart of Merseyway Shopping Centre into an interactive music installation. 

Our creative technicians developed tech which would be robust enough for lots of people to use and easy to operate. We also bore in mind sensory needs, with the sound levels checked so it wasn’t too loud and there were no sudden bangs or loud noises.  

But why did we do this?

1. To bring music to the most accessible place in Stockport. Access to music venues in the UK for disabled people remains shockingly poor. The installation allowed disabled people to have front-row seats to music-making: allowing them to make their own tracks! 

2. Stockport is a town on two levels. The lifts we transformed make it possible for disabled people to get around our town so we knew disabled residents in Stockport would use the lifts regularly and we could bring a fun experience to them. 

3. We wanted our participants to be able to take part in something amazing. OmniMusic participants laid down the foundation tracks for Rise which were then professionally produced. This provided a showcase for the incredible music which disabled people can make. 

4. To bring music made by disabled people into the mainstream, by bringing it to the main shopping area in Stockport.  

What did we achieve through Rise?

• Our CEO, EJ Trivett, was invited to speak on BBC Radio Manchester, allowing us to reach a large audience and raise OmniMusic’s profile. 

• Approximately 11,000 people used the lifts and got to experience a little of how our accessible music sessions work. 

• People had fun with the tracks! We had designed the tech to operate for the whole of the weekend, but we had to go in and change the batteries midway through because of how much it had been used! 

• One participant’s feedback was: ‘My daughter LOVES it. She is 11, has PMLD and a visual impairment. She really loves music.’ 

Rise was made possible by the generous funding of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund 

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