If Evelyn Glennie can manage to make a living as a serious solo concert percussionist while profoundly deaf, I don't see anything inherently wrong with a deaf person in a piano class. If you've never seen Evelyn Glennie in concert, you've missed an incredible experience. She's simply amazing! She has her own website ( http://www.evelyn.co.uk/ ), which includes an essay on deafness and music ( http://www.evelyn.co.uk/script.htm ).
A young man who is both profoundly deaf and blind recently joined the church choir I direct. He'll be signing for our 11:00am service as well as singing in the choir (and signing our anthems, responses, etc. at the same time). He has a very nice baritone voice, sings on pitch (and from memory), and is an expressive signer. He has occasional problems with dynamics, but we work those out. I give him the music ahead of time, and he has someone translate the lyrics into braille for him, which he brings to each rehearsal, making notes in pencil as we rehearse. I also give him a tape of the baritone part for each piece, and he then records each rehearsal. So far, it's working out great. I now have *6* basses/baritones, 5 altos, 6 sopranos, and 2 tenors. Life is good (although I'd be thrilled to get another tenor).
Cheers!
Lana
Caio Rossi wrote:
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> > > What a hack is a deaf person doing in a piano class??? Have you guys heard > supposing you're not that person ) of anything like that? It's the same as > imagining Stevie Wonder painting... I can't even imagine why he would do > that if he can't enjoy the aesthetics involved in it... it's more like a > Saturday Night Live sketch! > > I admit the irony, but it's a real question: does it exist??? > > Thanks, > > Caio Rossi > >
-- Explain it as we may, a martial strain will urge a man into the front rank of battle sooner than an argument, and a fine anthem excite his devotion more certainly than a logical discourse. ~ Henry Tuckerman ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lana Mountford lana@a... Seattle, WA
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