Jo-anne Cox: Open Fund for Music Creators
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Defiant Journey is a ground-breaking interactive electric cello experience, blending music, activism, storytelling and digital and sensory arts.
From the dark recesses, Dragon Cello transmits a powerful and protective veil of sound and colour. Raucous red, vibrant orange, enshrouded in midnight blue. As the mystical sounds tinge with different colours, audiences are invited to follow the show’s central character, Dragon Cello, towards a journey of hope and rebellious dance.
Defiant Journey is a sonic saga, told by a musician and her electric ally. Invoking the language of mythology to explore a personal and political narrative, it exposes and challenges our stories around identity, mental health and it questions the cruel vagaries of the welfare state. It is the story of navigating the highs and lows of life as a Neurodivergent musician in Conservative Britain.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:
Jo-anne Cox is a creative cellist and composer, based in London and working across the UK. Her compositions and playing style are sensuous and textural, bringing feeling and emotion to each piece. She is a solo and ensemble performer, with a passion for access and inclusion. Jo-anne directs audience interaction with digital and sensory arts, during live performance and believes the sound, light and vibration from her sparkling purple electric cello is for everyone.
She has performed at music and disability arts festivals, and delivered interactive workshops with electric cello, music and light technology and art.
Jo-anne is an Associate Musician with Drake Music and a blog contributor to Disability Arts Online.