Deaf musician and trained music teacher Mary Bell is leading our first project working with children with hearing impairment.
Since 21st January, Mary has been delivering music sessions with pupils at Garvel Centre for the Deaf, using her wide range of skills and experiences to help them explore musical ideas inspired by the four elements: Water, Fire, Air and Earth. Pupils have already created their own instruments from large resonant objects like a home-made didgeridoo, and had great fun playing guitars and singing into microphones.
“Working at the Garvel Centre is like all my Christmases and birthdays rolled into one!” says Mary Bell “To work with the pupils and communicate directly with them in BSL with no communication breakdown, no sounds unfelt…. to see them grow in confidence and even begin to use there voices too. For me as a deaf musician to impart that and see the excitement and to be a role-model also that affirms that deafness is no barrier to enjoying and playing music- it’s just fantastic”.
Drake Music Scotland Chief Executive Thursa Sanderson said “It’s brilliant to have musicians of Mary’s calibre who also bring their direct experience of disability to add depth to the musical learning and teaching going on in our projects. We are very pleased to be working with her on our first project specifically focused on music for pupils with hearing impairments”
This project is supported by Inverclyde Council‘s Creative Scotland Youth Music Initiative funding and will culminate in a performance on Friday April 1st.