Graham Dowdall (AKA Dids AKA Gagarin) is a very active and experienced community musician. Since gaining a Certif in MusicWorkshop skills in 1994, he has been running a wide range of workshops and projects in various parts of the country

He specializes in Music Technology based work, rhythm and drumming, creative composition & writing rock and pop. He has also done a lot of work combining music with other forms like dance, film, theatre, spoken word

Graham works in Youth Centres, Schools, Pupil Referral Units and Community Centres. He also has extensive experience of working with adults and young people with a variety of special needs - physical disabilities, learning disabilities, educational needs etc

His guiding principle in this work is a belief in the power of music as a force of positivity, change and empowerment for individuals and communities. He is committed to equal opportunity for all and the lesson that music can teach about greater respect for diversity

Music Technology

Working extensively in London and the South East he runsworkshops for young people with technology, teaching and encouraging the creative use of computers, samplers and other electronic instruments Students are encouraged to make their own compositions in a huge variety of styles. This work is undertaken in a variety of settings including; schools, Youth Centres, Pupil Referral Units and Community Centres



Special Needs

Graham has extensive experience of working with adults and young people with a variety of special needs - physical disabilities, mental health needs, educational needs etc



Rock and Pop

Graham has run a hugely succesful programme of rock and pop workshops for Live and Direct in Surrey, working with large numbers of young musicians and bands getting them writing playing, recording and playing gigs



Soundtracks and Soundscapes

Recently Graham has been involved with creating music for two films - one made by deaf young people in Londons Islington, the other in Malton, N. Yorkshire. He is also currently working on an environmental sound and word project at Leith Hill in Surrey



Community Workshop Teacher Training

Graham is involved in training of musicians to work in the community - running workshops - in Antrim Northern Ireland, Univ of Hull and especially at Goldsmiths College London where he teaches on the Certificate and MA course in combined arts



INSET Training

Graham runs INSET courses for teachers at all levels from nursery to sixth form helping to improve teachers skills in music education and has run a huge range of drum and rhythm based workshops in a wide variety of settings and styles