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<img src="cid:7.1.0.9.2.20171117212852.053dc398@visi.com.1" width=230 height=94 alt="BANA logo">
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<h1><b><a name="_GoBack"></a>Press
Release</b></h1><a name="_GoBack"></a><br>
<br>
<font size=4>November 2017<br>
</font>For Immediate Release<br>
<br>
Contact: Jennifer Dunnam, Chair<br>
Braille Authority of North America<br>
612-767-5658<br>
<a href="mailto:chair@brailleauthority.org">chair@brailleauthority.org</a>
<br><br>
<h1><b>BANA Honors Dr. Lawrence R. Smith <br>
at 2017 Getting in Touch with Literacy Conference</b></h1><br>
<dl>
<dd><font size=4>The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) will
proudly honor Dr. Lawrence (Larry) R. Smith with its biennial Braille
Excellence Award. Dr. Smith, a respected music braille transcriber and
principal reviser of two music braille texts, has served as chair of two
organizations' music braille committees and is a retired professor of
music. This well-deserved tribute will be presented at the first general
session of the 2017 Getting in Touch with Literacy Conference in New
Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday morning, December 7.<br>
</font><br>
<dd><font size=4>Dr. Smith became interested in music braille when he
taught a blind music student at Kalamazoo College. He learned both
literary braille and music braille, becoming an expert music braille
transcriber. Soon he assumed leadership positions in braille-related
organizations, serving first as Chair of the Music Braille Committee of
the National Braille Association (NBA) and then as NBA's President.
Although he retired from Kalamazoo College as a full professor of music
in 1996, Dr. Smith became Chair of BANA's Music Braille Committee and was
principal author of BANA's most recent Music Braille Code revision,
published in 2015. He was also principal reviser of the second edition of
Introduction to Braille Music Transcription</i>, published in 2005 by the
Library of Congress' National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped (NLS). He continues to work in the field he loves,
transcribing music braille for NLS and serving as a consultant in the
preparation of the third edition of Introduction to Braille Music
Transcription.<br>
</font><br>
<dd><font size=4>Dr. Smith's legacy will undoubtedly be his work on the
2015 edition of the Music Braille Code. Ruth Rozen, retired Senior
Curriculum Designer for The Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually
Impaired and former member of the BANA Music Braille Committee, summed up
this legacy in these words: "If it were not for Larry Smith’s
dedication and intense, detailed work on this project, BANA and the music
world would not have a modern, complete manual from which to transcribe
and read music braille."<br>
</font><br>
<dd><font size=4>A prolific composer, Dr. Smith has written pieces for
orchestra, choir, and various solo instruments and ensembles. Although
primarily a classical composer, he has also written jazz scores and has
experimented with electronic music.<br>
</font><br>
<dd><font size=4>BANA created its Braille Excellence Award in honor of
Louis Braille’s 200th</sup> birthday and awarded it for the first time
in 2009. This will be only the fifth awarding of this prestigious award
that recognizes people or organizations that have developed or
contributed to a code, have developed code materials or software that
supports codes, and/or who represent the highest standards of braille
production.<br>
</font><br>
<dd><font size=4>NOTE: This press release is available in HTML on the
BANA website at
<a href="https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/www.brailleauthority.org?p=eyJzIjoiLU1YMi1JNzhJZDB0bVN5bUN3QjFvVi1TZVBZIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwOlxcXC9cXFwvd3d3LmJyYWlsbGVhdXRob3JpdHkub3JnXFxcL3ByZXNzcmVsZWFzZXNcXFwvcHItMjAxNy0xMS5odG1sXCIsXCJpZFwiOlwiMTFmYTJmZjkyOGJhNGEyNmExMDBjZDdkNzgxZTliZjRcIixcInVybF9pZHNcIjpbXCIwNTkwZDI4OTY0ZjVhMGE1ZjM1MmMzN2JiOTg3ZjdiODUzNzJiNDc3XCJdfSJ9">
http://www.brailleauthority.org/pressreleases/pr-2017-11.html</a>.<br>
</font><br>
</dl><br>
<div align="center"><br>
</div>
<br>
<font size=4>The mission of the Braille Authority of North America is to
assure literacy for tactile readers through the standardization of
braille and/or tactile graphics. <br>
</font><br>
<font size=4>You can follow the work of BANA by signing up for
BANA-Announce, a one-way email list that disseminates news and
information. To join this list, send a blank email message to
<a href="mailto:bana-announce-subscribe@brailleauthority.org">
bana-announce-subscribe@brailleauthority.org</a> and follow the
directions in the confirmation email that will be sent in response. You
can also follow BANA on Facebook and Twitter! <br>
</font><br><br>
<br>
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