Our History

In the mid-1990s, musician and song-writer Sir Richard Stilgoe and neurologist Dr Michael Swallow started piloting music weeks for disabled people. These were so effective that Sir Richard decided to start a place where disabled people and students could work together for longer than a week – to change their own and other people’s lives by creating new music and performing in public. The Orpheus Centre opened in 1997 at Sir Richard's former family home in Godstone, Surrey.

Orpheus started with five disabled students who lived on-site, learning to cook, manage budgets, do laundry and go shopping. They also wrote songs, devised dances and challenged people’s preconceived ideas about disabled people whenever and wherever they performed. The students are all motivated by the arts. Performance students have performed in venues all over the country including the Royal Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Glastonbury Festival, Notting Hill Carnival, the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, The Royal Festival Hall, and appeared in hit TV show Call The Midwife. The visual arts students have been commissioned by professional art organisations and has their work exhibited. The dancers perform at many events including the All England Dance 100th Anniversary Gala at the London Coliseum.

In 2023 we celebrate Orpheus’ 25th anniversary year. We are excited to see what the next 25 years hold for Orpheus.