Orchestra reaches out to deaf community

From: Arizona Daily Star - Tucson,AZ,USA - Jun 1, 2006

Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra violist Colleen Green was not among her colleagues at the ensemble's season finale May 21.

That's because her role in the concert was much larger than contributing to producing what the audience at the Berger Performing Arts Center at the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind heard.

She provided what they saw.

In fact, Green — the mother of 2 1/2-year-old Dalton Green, who was born deaf — was the brainchild behind the orchestra's innovative concert that paired the music with visuals. Green conceived the concert as a way to reach the deaf community that she had become part of with her son's birth.

Green used the G-Force computer program to transcribe sounds into visuals that were projected onto a big screen. She worked with the orchestra's conductor, Adam Boyles, in crafting a program that was accessible to the deaf.

Days after the concert, Boyles called the concert a resounding success.

"Hearing the laughter during Haydn (Symphony No. 60), seeing the kids dancing in the aisle — I think everybody had a great time," he said.

In addition to performing with the orchestra, Green assists with grant-writing, including securing a Tucson Pima Arts Council grant for the May 21 concert.

Award-winning pianist to perform at church

Pianist Barry Snyder will perform a recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a group of Arizona teachers attending the state Music Teachers Association meetings here.

Music teachers are a sharing bunch, so they've decided to share the experience with the rest of us.

That means the doors are open for us to see the multiple Van Cliburn award-winner in action.

Snyder, who is acclaimed internationally as a performer and a teacher, won three major prizes at the 1966 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He has recorded more than 40 albums and has performed around the world.

His program on Friday includes works by Beethoven, Chopin, Ravel, Crumb and Liszt.

Snyder will perform at Christ Church United Methodist, 655 N. Craycroft Road. Tickets are $7, with discounts available. 795-8630.

Z Cathalena E. Burch

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