I first heard The Inspiration Orchestra when a small ensemble of members played in the Garden Room at Pitmeadow Farm, Dunning, Perthshire as part of their 2023 Concert Tour. It was Christmastime and the atmosphere was magical. Vine branches meandered across a translucent ceiling below a starlit sky as I enjoyed a warm glass of mulled wine. As the musicians took up position and started playing, it hit me that I was witnessing something profoundly inspirational, moving, and humbling. Led by able-bodied musician and tutor Ian White, the orchestra comprised individuals with varying degrees of mental and physical disability – some quite pronounced – and almost all requiring the help of an assistant. To produce a performance from the challenges I saw before me was nothing short of a seasonal miracle.

Fast forward to May 2024, and I am in the wonderful setting of Pitmeadow Farm once again – this time for an all-day event of farmyard fun, classic cars, and music from The Inspiration Orchestra. Farm owners Ewan and Fiona McLean-Foreman had converted their large barn to a concert venue. When I arrived, White was running around like a madcap roadie setting up keyboards, music stands, a mixer desk, microphones, amplifiers, monitors, and lights. Despite the anticipated four hundred visitors comprising mostly family, friends and caretakers, there is much at stake – namely, the reputation of The Inspiration Orchestra as an outreach project, the expectations of audience members and, most importantly, the enjoyment of the individual musicians – many of whom regard this is the highlight of their year. Given the logistical challenges and the needs of participants, concerts were delivered in three thirty-minute sessions throughout the day. Each performance featured a different combination of musicians of all ages – always fronted by White on guitar and vocals, holding things together. I attended all performances and listened as audience members were wowed with a selection of ballads, gospel songs, country and folk classics, good old-time rock ’n’ roll, and even two numbers co-written by Bob Boyd – the band’s bassist – and White. I zeroed-in on lines from Boyd’s song Beautiful Lady –

It’s not been easy, it’s been painful
But she gives courage to me and it’s wonderful

 and his equally poignant Waiting for Monday –

He’s lonely and sad, dreams of love that he had
Now he’s walking alone, lost in his dream

These were powerful words that hit hard. I watched tears flow, comforting arms placed around neighbours’ shoulders, and an emotionally charged silence fill the room.

Each performer was different; some were born with disabilities while others were affected by illness or injury later in life. Many were unable to comprehend or even articulate their own story.

Away from the poignant lyrics, any awkward tensions were assuaged with uplifting numbers that offered sing-along or accompanying hand-clapping opportunities.

White is the musical and production brains behind The Inspiration Orchestra. His mantra is simple, “If you are disabled and want to play music with The Inspiration Orchestra, we will find a place for you irrespective of your disability or your musical ability.”

The delivery is more complex. Looking around I see individuals in wheelchairs, others with major mobility issues, some unable to lift their heads, and some with significant sight or hearing loss. Undaunted, White has created devices or adapted instruments to meet their specific needs. A guitarist has his instrument laid flat on a table. It has a single string. Before each song a capo is fitted at the relevant fret to ensure that when plucked the string is in harmony with the key of the song. A keyboard player has a sensor fitted that, when touched by her head, plays a note. Coloured lights sit before some players. These flash when White presses a foot pedal indicating a change of note. Drums, tambourine, and a drink can filled with rice provide the percussive drive. The result was remarkably harmonious. I witnessed solo performances on violin, harmonica, guitar, keyboards, and vocals. Audiences showed their appreciation with rapturous applause and participants beamed with joy at the acknowledgement of their achievements.

Keen to learn more about White and the background of The Inspiration Orchestra, we met at his Perthshire home. Coffee and a comfortable sofa seemed a mile away from the stresses of performance. “Music has always been my passion,” he remarks casually. It is an understatement from a man who rose through the ranks of school concerts and the folk music scene in Ayr, and, later, in Aberdeen in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was while studying for an arts degree at Aberdeen University that he met his wife, Carol. He acknowledges her influence, “She opened me up to the Christian faith, changing me from folk club performer to Christian evangelical singer-songwriter. None of this would have happened without her.” He recalls the moment of transition, “I was playing a gig at Inverary in late ’78 when I felt something tell me to stop this pub work.” He cancelled all engagements for the next three months. A week later he was in a church in Aberdeen listening to touring evangelist singer Dave Pope, who ran a band called The Alethians that had toured with Cliff Richard. Pope offered White a place in his band and for the next six months they engaged in an evangelical music tour of the U.K. In the early 1980s he undertook a theology degree, but it was music that drove his evangelical outreach. For over two decades he was one of the most influential Christian singer-songwriters of his generation, selling over 250,000 albums and undertaking multiple trips to perform in USA (20), New Zealand (12), Europe (6), Australia (4) and Africa (1). Times change, however, and by 2012 his ‘big era’ was over.

In 2014, while playing at a Capability Scotland disabled home, he noticed a girl holding down a single note on a keyboard. The resultant drone was a unique moment of harmony and gave him the idea of musical partnering with disabled people. He puts down his coffee cup and momentarily loses himself before announcing, “That was the moment The Inspiration Orchestra was conceived.”

He acknowledges other ‘nudges’ along the way such as the time he was playing to 1200 people in a hall in Aberdeen. In the audience was a woman named Margaret Benson who had a disabled son. Years later she told him that she turned to her friend that evening saying, “I feel in my bones that one day I will be in a disabled ministry with that guy, but he doesn’t know it yet and I’ve not to tell him.” In 2014 White met Benson and asked her to help him set up a charitable trust for disabled people. The following year The Inspiration Orchestra became a registered Scottish charity. Currently, its members are drawn from Tayside, but White regards it as a ‘start-up’ project that could be expanded and rolled out across the country. He tutors the musicians at home, in small groups within community halls or in places such as Pitmeadow Farm.

Back in the barn I note the pride, sense of achievement, and self-worth that pervades the orchestra – moments when the human spirit rises highest to defy great adversity.

Living in a profit-oriented society that often alienates the disadvantaged, we diminish the value of what they can offer and what they can teach us. When these individuals make music, there is a joy in the way they connect and communicate despite the enormous hurdles they overcome to do so. When the music ends, the hugs, the congratulations, and the laughter spill out far beyond the confines of a barn. I leave Pitmeadow Farm, profoundly inspired, moved, and humbled – even more so than the first time I heard The Inspiration Orchestra play. ~ Words & photos by Tom Langlands

The Inspiration Orchestra is seeking funding to commission a video for promotional purposes. Donations may be made through The Inspiration Orchestra website and would be received with gratitude.

 Pitmeadow Farm offers high-quality, self-catering accommodation in a stunning location in rural Perthshire. The Inspiration Orchestra acknowledges the contribution of Ewan and Fiona McLean-Foreman with gratitude.

www.theinspirationorchestra.com
www.pitmeadowfarm.co.uk
www.tomlanglandsphotography.com