Music and the Deaf
One in seven of the population have some degree of hearing loss, yet many still enjoy music.
"Music and the Deaf" was established 20 years ago by Dr Paul Whittaker OBE, who is himself profoundly deaf. The charity is unique, being the only one in the world that encourages deaf people (and those who live and work with them) to take an active part in making music for its own sake, rather than for therapy or other purposes. MatD runs workshops, courses, resources, training, talks, signed theatre and concert performances, and has recently set up a Deaf Youth Orchestra. All events are led by deaf people, which provide a vital role model for young people.
Although Paul, of Ripponden, Yorkshire, is often asked, "How do you make music when you're deaf?" what's important to Paul and his colleagues is not how but the fact that they can do it, and succeed in sharing this with others.
How many of you have ever actually wondered about what music is, what it consists of, why it affects you as it does, and how you would describe it to someone who cannot hear it? Of course music isn't something we talk about, it's something we experience, and through that exposure to it we have an emotional response. Your ears are useful but they're not the most vital thing, in Paul's view, and MatD's work over the years bears testament to that.
Two particularly exciting projects for MatD are "Hi Notes" and "Sing Up." The first is a group of 8 Deaf young people who wanted to play together and create their own music, under the leadership of Danny Lane, MatD's Education manager. The group started in January 2008, entered the National Festival of Music for Youth in March, and this month will be the first Deaf ensemble to perform at the Schools Prom in the Royal Albert Hall, playing their own piece "The Tutankhamen’s Curse."
Read more about Music and the Deaf at Classic FM, here.
