[MN-ABS] FW: Braille Music Opportunity for Students

Tue Aug 22 16:13:07 UTC 2023

From: DeSantis, Shane (DEED) <shane.desantis at state.mn.us>
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2023 11:07 AM
To: #DEED_SSB-AllStaff <SSB-AllStaff.DEED at state.mn.us>
Subject: Braille Music Opportunity for Students

Hello Everyone,

Please help spread the word about this upcoming opportunity for students to learn about braille music! This event is supported by MDE and is using our St. Paul office as a hosting site. This is tailored for students in 7th - 12th grade. Kudos goes out to Jenny for spearheading this!  Let Jenny know if you have any questions!

Attention high schoolers who want to learn about braille music!

Four in-person classes will be held this fall at State Services for the Blind. Check out the attachment for more information and to register.

About the instructors:

Kaitlin "Kaiti" Shelton, MS, MT-BC, has been a Board-Certified music therapist (MT-BC) for 5 years and currently serves elementary students in Saint Paul Public Schools. She holds a B.M. in music therapy from the University of Dayton and a M.S. in music therapy from Indiana University Indianapolis. Kaiti's experiences as a blind music student have informed her music therapy practice as well as her efforts to make Braille music accessible to more blind students. Unable to learn the music code from her teachers of the visually impaired while in school, Kaiti sought out and attended summer programs including the Braille Beats Fine Arts Program and the Summer Braille Music Institutes during the summers of her high school ears. She credits those workshops and programs with giving her the knowledge and skills needed to participate in collegiate music study. Upon finishing her undergraduate degree in 2017, Kaiti returned to Braille Beats as an instructor and taught braille music classes as well as a ukulele ensemble. A clarinetist by training, she now most often uses Braille music for reading vocal parts in musical theatre productions and when rehearsing with One Voice Mixed Chorus. She serves as an advisor for music therapy, multiply disabled musicians, and early childhood music for the Music Education Network for the Visually Impaired (MENVI). Kaiti is excited to work with her fellow facilitators and students.

Beth McGarr, MA SpEd-VI, MM, is a teacher of the Blind and Visually Impaired with Southwest Metro Intermediate School District 288. Along with her masters degree in special education, Beth also has both bachelors and masters degrees in vocal performance. She has read braille music since she was a child and has experience teaching both children and adults. She enjoys singing with a local church chamber choir as well as playing the piano and the dulcimer.

Jenny Pelletier, MA, MS, MT-BC, COMS, is a Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) and a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist (COMS). As a music therapist for over 20 years, she has worked in a variety of school and health care settings, most recently at the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind. She taught introductory braille music as well as lead vocal and instrumental ensembles, accessible recording technology and podcasting, and worked with students of varied abilities.  She is currently an orientation & mobility instructor with State Services for the Blind.

Shane DeSantis, MS, CRC | Transition Coordinator  (He/Him)
State Services for the Blind
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
2200 University Ave. W., Suite 240, St. Paul MN 55114
Office: 651-539-2354
Cell: 651-358-5205
OFFICE HOURS: Mon-Thurs 6:30 am - 5:00 pm
Web<http://mn.gov/deed> | Twitter<http://twitter.com/mndeed> | Facebook<http://facebook.com/mndeed>
[State Services for the Blind, Celebrating 100 years. 1923-2023]
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