Like many teenage boys, Chris Jacquin dreams of having a career in music. He is already an accomplished composer, but performing is a greater challenge. Chris has cerebral palsy so he cannot hold or play a musical instrument. That meant he could not sit the practical element of music exams, or play in bands or orchestras.
But now a special headband, which responds to clicks in his jaw, enables him to play the notes on a musical score on a computer - and this has been recognised as a valid musical performance. The 17-year-old is excited by the possibilities which the Brainfingers system has opened up for him. Chris said: "Brainfingers has given me the chance to perform some of my favourite songs and has enabled me to perform in an ensemble."
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He added that the system could enable musicians with physical disabilities to perform with able-bodied musicians. Chris, from Edinburgh, has been working with the charity Drake Music Scotland. Its music technology officer Rick Bamford explained: "We've adjusted Brainfingers to be sensitive to Chris' jaw movements, so as he increases the pressure between his teeth he goes through a trigger line which Brainfingers is reading.
"This puts him in direct control of how the score is played back." This summer Chris will be one of a group of young Scottish musicians playing a specially commissioned piece for the Cultural Olympiad as part of the New Music 20x12 programme. Technophonia, by composer Oliver Searle, will be performed in Edinburgh and London. Chris is now practising hard for his Higher music and for the Technophonia concerts. However, his long-term ambitions are to go to music college and then become a professional composer.
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