[musictlk] Performing Arts Newsletter, Issue 1 vole 1
Ryan Silveira
ryan.l.silveira at gmail.com
Mon Aug 24 20:50:48 UTC 2015
Hello,
Thank you for your e-mail. I am currently on vacation and will return on the 7th of September, 2015. I will periodically check my e-mail, but please do not expect an immediate response. Thank you very much.
Ryan L. Silveira
חיים אהרן בן אברהם
On Aug 18, 2015, at 8:17 PM, Jordy Stringer via musictlk <musictlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Greetings fellow federationists,
>
> The Performing Arts Division hopes this message finds you all doing well!
>
> For some the publication did not come through in its entirety. For your
> convenience the text has been pasted below.
>
> Happy reading.
>
> Jordy D. Stringer
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi All
>
> Here's the newsletter you've all been hearing so much about and waiting for!
> Please contact me with any articles or inquiries.
>
> Happy Reading!
>
> Lizzy
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Spotlight
>
> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
>
> Volume 1, Issue 1
>
> August 17, 2015
>
> Editor: Lizzy Muhammad
>
> President: Jordy Stringer
>
> Spotlight
>
> Los Ciegos del Barrio
>
> by Jordy Stringer
>
> Los Ciegos del Barrio is a band whose members have varying
>
> degrees of blindness. They are frequent donors to the NFB's
>
> Performing Arts Division, and they have given yet another
>
> donation to this year's annual talent show at national
>
> convention. Some of us may remember them for their version
>
> of "Brown Eyed Girl" from the NFB Performing Arts
>
> compilation entitled, "Sound in Sight". The bilingual Latin
>
> band, from New York City, has recently released its brand
>
> new single, "Mama Used To Say".
>
> The band members had a busy summer in 2015. On July 12,
>
> they played at the first annual Disability Pride Parade in
>
> New York City.
>
> On July 18, in further unbiased support of all members of
>
> the blind community, they played at an ACB fundraiser at the
>
> Music Conservatory of Westchester, 216 Central Avenue in
>
> White Plains New York. The show began at 1:00P.M.and the
>
> audience loved every minute.
>
> On July 24, The band played at the Brentwood Public Library,
>
>
> 94 2nd Avenue, in Brentwood New York. The event was free,
>
> open to the public, and enjoyed by all ages.
>
> On July 29, the band flew to Milwaukee Wisconsin for the
>
> annual "Live At The Lake Front" summer series at Discovery
>
> World Rotary Amphitheater, located at 500 North Harbor
>
> Drive. In 2012, the band broke the all-time attendance
>
> record... And was ready for more when they returned for
>
> their sixth consecutive year.
>
> If you have any questions about the band including its
>
> performance availability, please call the band's director
>
> Alvin Suarez at: (718) 886-8686. He is also the business
>
> and press contact for bookings and interviews. You may also
>
> send an email to:losciegosdelbarrio at gmail.com
>
> Your support is always appreciated at any of their social media
>
> networks: YouTube,HTTP3WWW.YouTUBE.COM/LOSCIEGOSDELBarRIO?
>
> Facebook,HTTP:WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/LOSCIEGOSDELBarRIO?
>
> You can also friend request them on Facebook for a more
>
> personal experience.
>
> Twitter:HTTP:WWW.TWITTer.COM/LOSCIEGOS?
>
> Want to pick up their new single Mamà Used to Say? It is
>
> available on iTunes. Don't have iTunes? It is also available on
>
> MP3.
>
> Los Ciegos Del Barrio salutes all Federationists, and wishes
>
> all members of the NFB Performing Arts Division, a prosperous
>
> rest of the year.
>
> Around the Division
>
> Meet Kaiti Shelton: A Musician in the Performing Arts Division
>
> and Our Newest Board Member
>
> by Jordy Stringer
>
> Kaiti Shelton is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree
>
>
> in Music Therapy at the University of Dayton in Ohio.
>
> Though she plays the clarinet as her primary instrument, her
>
> career requires her to be skilled in other areas of musical
>
> performance as well. The necessity to be a well-rounded
>
> musician has given her the opportunity to perform in a
>
> variety of ensembles and to learn various skills.
>
> Kaiti does clarinet recitals each semester for music majors
>
> at her school. She has also played in the Clarinet Choir;
>
> the Pride of Dayton Marching Band; the Symphonic Wind
>
> Ensemble (where she usually sits second or third chair); and
>
> in other groups including the Flyer Pep Band and Sigma Alpha
>
> Iota performances. Before attending the University of
>
> Dayton, she played as a guest soloist for two major bands in
>
> Cincinnati: Lee's Junction and Blue Stone Ivory. She played
>
> in regional honor bands during her sophomore and junior
>
> years of college, and was accepted into the prestigious
>
> Cincinnati Youth Wind Ensemble hosted by the CCM preparatory
>
> program in her freshman year. Through the program, Kaiti
>
> learned that she did not want to be a conservatory clarinet
>
> student. But the experience was positive in that it helped
>
> her to become a better player along with establishing the
>
> skills needed to perform in other prestigious music groups.
>
> Kaiti's other interests are in the guitar and vocal
>
> performance. She has performed several times at open mic
>
> nights and played everything from 80s hits to modern pop.
>
> Her favorites to play are soft pop and alternative songs by
>
> a wide range of artists including: Ingrid Michaelson, The
>
> Lumineers, and Of Monsters and Men. In the beginning of
>
> summer, she took on a gig opening for a country band at a
>
> local bar, and performed songs by Darius Rucker; Toby Keith;
>
> Miranda Lambert; Carrie Underwood; Rascal Flatts and a few
>
> others. Interspersed in her country set were some light pop
>
> hits, along with a few summer/island-esque numbers. The gig
>
> helped her raise funds for humanitarian aid in Jamaica where
>
> she volunteered and studied this past summer. Kaiti is
>
> hoping that her opening act gig will be the first of more in
>
> depth performances in the Dayton area in addition to the
>
> open mic nights.
>
> Kaiti's other diverse musical interests are in: Javanese
>
> Gamelan; bonong playing; playing viola de gamba in the UD
>
> Early Music Ensemble and classical guitar which she studied
>
> with Jim McCutcheon. In addition to these musical
>
> achievements, she performs regularly with the University of
>
> Dayton's Choral Union. In this choir, she sings everything
>
> from Mozart to jazz standards in sacred and secular
>
> concerts. She has studied vocal performance for the past
>
> two years with Andrea Chenoweth Wells, who has performed as
>
> part of the Dayton Opera Company and across the country.
>
> Outside of School, Kaiti has sought other performance
>
> opportunities for both personal enjoyment and professional
>
> development. She loves to sing in church and school choirs
>
> alike, and is growing more comfortable with singing as a
>
> soloist in the classical genre as well. She attended the
>
> Summer Braille Music Institute and was a student of the
>
> Braille Beats Fine Arts Program for seven years. At Braille
>
> Beats Kaiti typically sang alto in the choir, and performed
>
> in the annual talent show. She also performed in an
>
> original full-length musical aboutJ.S Bach, where she played
>
> the role of Bach's wife and sang the opening number.
>
> Kaiti understands the importance of having strong vocal
>
> skills for her career in music therapy. For jobs in the
>
> field, she knows everything from songs of the 1930s to
>
> children's tunes and uses them regularly in her work. While
>
> it is not necessary to be an accomplished vocalist in order
>
> to facilitate songs with clients, she strives to use proper
>
> technique and skill to hone her craft to the highest
>
> quality.
>
>
>
> If you know a performer who would like to be featured in the
>
> "Around the Division" section of "Spotlight" please contact
>
> editor Lizzy Muhammad or president Jordy Stringer
>
> atnfbpad at gmail.com
>
>
>
> Who's on Stage?
>
> Letter to the Performing Arts Division of the National Federation
>
> of the Blind:
>
> by Julie McGinnity
>
> Dear friends and colleagues,
>
> I am writing to spark some thought, discussion, and
>
> eventually action in the Performing Arts Division of the
>
> National Federation of the Blind. The NFB raises
>
> expectations of blind people every day with its philosophy,
>
> programs, and network of mentors. Our 75th year brought
>
> with it a new tagline and increased determination to
>
> redefine the meaning of blindness in society. With the
>
> recent passing of a landmark convention, I ask you to think
>
> about what role our division will play in the next 75 years.
>
> As performers we are often held back by the misconceptions of
>
> others. Casting directors expect us to play only blind
>
> characters, and we encounter colleagues who expect us to fall off
>
> the stage every time we face the audience. We also wrestle with
>
> difficult questions as we audition for roles and compete against
>
> fellow performers. How does my blindness fit into the character
>
> I must portray? What does it mean to me to look blind on stage,
>
> and is it at all acceptable to do so? What mobility tool can I
>
> use, if any, on stage, and in what situations does this change? I
>
> have found in my own journey as a performer that these are just a
>
> fraction of the questions I ask myself. I do not believe our
>
> division is ignorant to these issues, but I believe we do not
>
> discuss them while simultaneously implementing strategies to
>
> solve them and teach younger performers.
>
> There are various ways we can begin working together as a
>
> division to learn from each other, devise new solutions, and
>
> ultimately increase the success of blind performers.
>
> Perhaps we start with research. Through the listserve and
>
> the eventual formation of a mentoring program, we can gather
>
> knowledge on the most prevalent issues challenging us. In
>
> addition, I believe that we can learn much about the present
>
> from our past. A class I am taking has motivated me to
>
> research blindness, entertainment in the 20th century, and
>
> their intersection. I think we can gain insight by studying
>
> representations of blindness, blind performers, and
>
> significant representations of other disabilities since the
>
> entertainment industry has such a large impact on society.
>
> We learn from songs, remember characters from movies and TV,
>
> and are influenced by the lessons taught to us by the actors
>
> and singers we admire. As performers we strive to entertain
>
> and affect our audiences, and the blind certainly have a
>
> place in this alongside our sighted colleagues. We need to
>
> find that place in the worlds of stage and screen, so that
>
> we can share our expertise as critics of blindness-related
>
> entertainment, and become advisors on national policy of
>
> such work.
>
> I am confident that if we continue to build our division, we
>
>
> will be leaders in this arena. The limitations that hold us
>
> back are the ones we impose upon ourselves. It is time to
>
> address these limitations honestly and fix them collectively
>
> in order to raise expectations of all blind performers.
>
> To make this a reality, we need your input. Your
>
> participation is of priceless value. Your questions deserve
>
> answers, and your problems deserve solutions. Do not
>
> hesitate to contact me with questions, ideas, or
>
> suggestions. My information is below. Thank you for
>
> reading these words, and I hope to meet many of you during
>
> future conventions.
>
>
>
> Your friend,
>
> Julie A McGinnity, Vice President
>
> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Jordy D. Stringer
>
> President, Performing Arts Division, National Federation of the Blind
>
> E-mail: president at nfbpad.org
>
> The national federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raze the
> expectations of blind people because lo expectations create opsticals
> between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
> blindness is not what holds you back.
>
>
>
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