Thanks for the Memories: Music meets science

In phase one, the project used creative and participatory methods to inspire secondary-school students to rethink their assumptions about vaccination. Over a period of 3-4 months with each school, the project team and early career researchers led a series of science, history, and composition workshops – which included a project launch day at the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester and laboratory visits to the Lydia Becker Institute, Manchester and the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. The workshops culminated with students collaborating with musicians from the RNCM and the University of Oxford to bring their pieces to life, with the musicians performing the final works at the RNCM and Tingewick Hall, JR Hospital. This co-creation element of the project empowered students as equal participants in the project, ensuring that their voices and creativity were celebrated. 

Fundamental to the design of the first phase of the project was accessibility. Participating schools were identified as scoring highly in disadvantage metrics such as number of students eligible for Free School meals, and who would particularly benefit from curriculum enhancement. The project team ensured that workshops were inclusive and accessible for pupils of all backgrounds. Dr Leeming, for example, supported students to compose music using non-traditional notation techniques – such as graphic or text-based scores – to enable pupils with little to no musical literacy to participate. This was vital given recent challenges around lack of access to or variable standards of music education in the UK. 

Integral to T4TM’s success was an innovative interdisciplinary approach to science engagement – blending insights from immune memory research with historical storytelling and musical creation throughout. Students created music that drew inspiration from diverse elements of the project – from the experience of illness and the behaviour of T-cells, to the resistance and courage of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Phase two showcased the power of opera to spark curiosity in the wider public about cutting-edge research into immune memory as well as who we remember for shaping and transforming public health. 

Pupils felt more confident in their understanding of the immune system; 93% of pupils in the Oxford school, for example, reported at the end of the project that they felt better prepared to tackle their Biology GCSE in the next year. They felt empowered to make informed decisions about future vaccinations: one pupil wrote that “I would feel confident [to get a future vaccine] as I understand how vaccines can speed up the creation of antibodies to eradicate the pathogens.” They found the experience of working with musicians a rewarding and fun challenge: one pupil was excited that the musician “played my music exactly how I thought it would sound.”

Teachers reported that the opportunity for students to meet and work with a range of professionals both from science and music was “invaluable to student experience and future aspirations.”

Audience members were struck by the opera as “unique”, “innovative”, and “memorable” with a “compelling and accessible” message. One audience member reflected: “art and science both explore the boundaries of what is possible.”

Paul Klenerman: “I found the way the music, science and history all blended over time both fascinating and instructive. I started out with one perspective on the project but it took on a life of its own and ended up much more inclusive, not only in terms of whom we engaged with but also how we engaged with them.” 
 

Zakiya Leeming: “The curiosity and range of expression in each student’s debut compositions reflected their engagement not just with the science, but also its history and politics on a personal level. Seeing them realise composition can be for anyone, and that they can explore the world and express themselves through this medium was incredible. The new opera Dangerous Matter brought together all dimensions of this story, and felt like a real celebration of interdisciplinary collaboration, public engagement and art."
 

Dr Lisa Ciacchi: “I wanted to encourage pupils to understand that science is not a sterile, abstract thing – as a scientist you need creativity and resilience to solve problems.”