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Stars of the Conservatoire Américain de Fontainebleau

Posted by: Donna Koh

Hollywood is abuzz in anticipation of the annual Academy Awards ceremony coming up on February 9th. I’ll admit that regardless of how late it is on Sunday night, I stay up to find out who the winners are. Equally exciting for people who are starstruck like me is when iconic film stars or other celebrities …

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Braille Music Transcends Prison Walls, Part 2

Posted by: Donna Koh

Continued from last week Part 2 DK: What motivates your incarcerated students to enroll in the braille music certification program, especially after toiling for months or years to achieve literary braille certification? KG: The opportunity to work in a prison braille program is a high honor which the prisons award to inmates who demonstrate ability, …

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Piano Lessons Made-to-Measure: An Interview with Dr. Leslie Jones About Teaching Visually Impaired Students, Part 2

Posted by: Donna Koh

This is the second part of my interview with Dr. Leslie Jones. DK: What tools and skills should these students be taught in order for them to be successful independent learners? LJ: Learning the language of any musician: music theory—pitch, rhythm, keys; using the measure numbers as points of reference in rehearsals, lessons and practice. …

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Piano Lessons Made-to-Measure: An Interview with Dr. Leslie Jones About Teaching Visually Impaired Students, Part 1

Posted by: Donna Koh

This blog is intended as a resource for sighted music teachers who may feel intimidated by the thought of accepting blind or visually impaired (VI) students into their studio due to lack of knowledge of how to best serve these students. Recently, I reached out to Dr. Leslie Jones, who has been serving as the …

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What Do Music Reader Service Librarians Do?

Posted by: Donna Koh

As many of you know, the NLS Music Section is a specialized music library serving blind and print-impaired patrons. This week’s blog post will reveal some of the many interesting things our music reader service librarians do. One of the most important tasks we do in the Music Section is reference service. We receive diverse …

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A Community Music School for Blind and Visually Impaired Students, Part 2

Posted by: Donna Koh

Continued from last week. Part 2 My second day at the school, which was a Saturday, was spent observing private lessons and group classes. Saturday at the school is mostly reserved for the youth programs. I was eager to attend as many lessons as possible and what I saw was fascinating and memorable. I attended …