The man bringing music to life for the deaf
This summer Paul Whittaker will be alongside The Sixteen, a choir celebrating its 30th year. However, what’s extraordinary about him is that he’s totally deaf. If anyone hard of hearing wants to see a concert in the UK, it will inevitably have Whittaker doing the hand waving.
Whittaker’s day job is running Music and the Deaf, a charity he founded in 1988, but he has also performed in Joseph, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, among 64 musicals.
When conducting Whittaker, as well as singing, mouths the words and conveys the dynamics associated with the piece through using inventive techniques.
One of his aims is to get deaf people involved in singing, as well as making musical concerts more accessible to them. Musically talented from an early age, Whittaker decided instead of playing professionally, he wanted to help deaf people get into music.
He was summoned to work with The Sixteen, as the choir was looking at new ways to provide musical access to deaf people. The Sixteen have just embarked on their annual choir pilgrimage and recently released a new CD of church music.
As featured on telegraph.co.uk.
