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By Tamzyn

We wanted to just acknowledge and pay tribute to an amazing man who we worked with several times over the last decade. Graham Dowdall died on 16^th June 3 months ago, just as we were launching into our super busy period of summer activity. So, we didn’t get time then to really think about it or pay tribute. But we must take a little time to say how incredible a man Graham Dowdall was and how much he helped us develop our work. We are sure he was a great musician and performed to thousands, but our work with him was in the area of inclusive working and getting young people to make music

We first met Graham in 2013 when he delivered a SEND training day with all our team and some young leaders, and it was the start of a mutually appreciative relationship. We became big Graham fans and he was a big KB fan! Graham was so down to earth and natural about the way he approached young people with special educational needs and disability, and he encouraged our team to have the same mindset. After delivering the training session he said “I find it remarkable how your group, especially the younger ones, quickly and intuitively grasp quite subtle and mature thinking and action. They radiate positive values and that is a credit to Bloco and I’m sure a tribute to Mat Fox’s and your own work. I felt rewarded by the day – I was buzzing from it myself.”

We loved him, and he loved us!!

And thankfully we got to work with him and learn from him lots more. In 2014 he helped us deliver a workshop in St Giles School Croydon, supporting the team and giving them direction during the sessions. This was the first time we had ever worked in a school with young people with profound disability, but he encouraged us that we were able. We were all moved to tears together when one young boy who the staff had never seen move his left hand reached it out so he could play the drum with both hands! Graham was so excited, even though he saw things like that in his work all the time, he never seemed to get used to it. You could see the joy in his eyes each time he helped a young person create.

From 2018-2024 we worked more closely with him on a Croydon Music Hub project funded by Youth Music. Together with Club Soda, and Graham we all led targeted work in Croydon for young people with special educational needs, helping the borough to become more accessible for young people to make music. We got the honour to attend quarterly strategy board meetings with him and it was always a pleasure to see him. He was so very cool and always super encouraging.

Whilst Shayanna and I had the privilege of working with him quite a lot over the years, Aneira had not experienced him until she did a training course with him through Sound Connections in April 2024. After the first session she came into the office saying “I now understand what you all say about Graham Dowdall – what a guy!”.

So it was with great sadness that we heard of his passing in June, and we just wanted to acknowledge that he was awesome, a true legend. And say a big THANK YOU Graham. We probably wouldn’t have as many young people with additional needs in the Bloco if it wasn’t for your support. We would not be as confident going into schools and saying we can work with and include all young people if it wasn’t for your training.  And we will really miss getting your encouragement with that twinkly eye each time we meet. But we hope you knew what brilliant work you did here on earth, and how your legacy will go on through the work of all those people you inspired, trained and encouraged to just help young people be creative. What a guy!