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Archive: October 2014 (5 Posts)

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Braille Hymnals: A Big Request

Posted by: Amanda Smith

Braille music hymnals are a big request in the Music Section — big as in the amount of requests we receive, and literally big in size, often expanding over numerous volumes. Part of my job is to digitize them, and I can say without hesitation that braille hymnals take the cake as some of the largest …

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Who Needs Country Music?

Posted by: John Hanson

The following is a guest blog by Benjamin Bass who was the recorded sound technician in the Music Section of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. If you’ve ever had a conversation asking someone about what kind of music they are into, I’m sure you’ve heard something along the lines of …

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NLS Presents Justin Kauflin

Posted by: Katie Rodda

Next week, on October 22, the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) will present a concert by jazz pianist and NLS patron Justin Kauflin in the Coolidge Auditorium at 7:15 p.m. The performance is a celebration of 50 years of the Music Section, which provides braille scores and …

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Some Splendid Saint-Saëns Selections

Posted by: Katie Rodda

Today we celebrate the 179th birthday of Camille Saint-Saëns, a famous French composer, most well-known for his works The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, and a number of other pieces. Saint-Saëns began his musical studies at the incredible age of three, while he was living with his mother and aunt in …

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Folks are Folks; Women in Bluegrass Music and Beyond

Posted by: Mary Dell Jenkins

As we add titles to our collection from the Smithsonian Collection, we are eagerly learning more about different music genres and their development, particularly of American Folk Music. When I was told I would have “other duties as assigned” there was no indication that those duties would be so enjoyable. I grew up listening to …