[Nfbv-announce] Fw: Benefit Concert for the Braille Circulating Library

[Mark W. Roane]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Melody L. Roane" <lindseym1 at verizon.net>
To: "Mark Roane" <mwroane at mindspring.com>
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2014 7:53 PM
Subject: Benefit Concert for the Braille Circulating Library


> Hello Richmond chapter members,
>
>
>
> I am sending this e-mail to remind you of the benefit concert for the 
> Braille Circulating Library on Sunday, April 27.  If you would like to 
> purchase tickets, they are ten dollars apiece.  Please see below for more 
> information.  Mark and I hope to see all of you there.  It will be a great 
> way to give back to our community.  If you would like further information, 
> please feel free to call me at 262-7057.
>
>
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
> Richmond's First Baptist Church will host singer/songwriter Ken Medema in 
> concert on Sunday, April 27, at 7:00 p.m.  The church is located in the 
> Fan District of Richmond at the corner of Monument and The Boulevard. 
> Tickets are $10 each, and all proceeds from the concert will benefit the 
> Braille Circulating Library at 2700 Stuart Avenue in Richmond.  If you 
> would like to purchase tickets for the concert, you may purchase them 
> online at fbcrichmond.org
>
>
>
> Here is Ken's biographical information:
>
>
>
> For four decades, Ken Medema has inspired people through storytelling and 
> music.  Though blind from birth, Ken sees and hears with heart and mind, 
> custom designing every musical moment of his performance with brilliant 
> improvisation that defies description.  With an ever-growing circle of 
> followers around the world, Ken's artistry and imagination have reached 
> audiences of 50 to 50,000 people in 49 United States and in more than 15 
> countries on four continents.
>
>
>
> From the time he was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1943, Ken has been 
> unable to see with his physical eyes.  His sight is limited to 
> distinguishing between light and darkness and seeing fuzzy outlines of 
> major objects.  "As a kid I was not widely accepted," he says, "and I 
> spent a lot of time by myself.  Because I have lived with some degree of 
> being different all my life, I have some sympathy for people who have been 
> disenfranchised, whether they have been disabled or politically oppressed 
> or whatever."
>
>
>
> Music early became a major component of Medema's life.  "I started banging 
> on the piano when I was five years old," he says, "making up crazy little 
> fantasies on my mom's piano.  When I was eight years old my parents got me 
> a wonderful teacher who taught me the classics with Braille music and 
> taught me to play by ear."  His teacher also taught him to improvise. 
> "Every time I learned a piece my teacher would tell me, 'Now, you 
> improvise in that style.'  So music became a second language."
>
>
>
> Medema studied music therapy at Michigan State University in Lansing, 
> where he concentrated heavily on performance skills in piano and voice. 
> He worked as a music therapist in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and then returned 
> to Michigan State for a master's degree.
>
>
>
> Today, Medema performs in a wide variety of venues, from local 
> congregations to charity fund-raisers, to high school and university 
> campuses, to denominational youth gatherings, to universally televised 
> religious programs, to corporate conventions, to annual assemblies of 
> national organizations.
>
>
>
> The Braille Circulating Library is pleased to partner with First Baptist 
> Church to present Ken Medema in concert and is grateful for the 
> opportunity to publicize its ministry.
>
>
>
> For eighty-nine years, the Braille Circulating Library has been producing 
> Christian materials to empower blind and vision-impaired individuals to 
> participate in their churches and to access Christian publications.  The 
> Braille Circulating Library is in need of updating and repairing its 
> Braille and audio production equipment.  Currently, First Baptist Church 
> and the Braille Circulating Library are collaborating to produce the 
> baptist hymnal, Celebrating Grace, which will be available to churches 
> around the country who may have blind and vision-impaired members who want 
> to participate in worship services by singing hymns from the hymnal.
>
>
>
> If you would like further information about the Braille Circulating 
> Library or the concert at First Baptist Church, please let me know.
>
>
>
> Have a great day!
>
>
>
> Melody
>