Volume 25 Issue 6 - March 2020

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“(Music) is a peaceful escape from the world
and the frustrations…the blindness creates”
process – it can take an hour to go through just seven bars. As well,
the loss of his once dazzling sight-reading skills precludes him from
jamming with others unless he’s already memorized the music. “I
can’t just get together with an oboist and play for fun,” says Arnowitt.
Losing vision later in life is more challenging than being born blind,
says Di Nino. As your sight gradually diminishes, you realize how
much you rely on that faculty just to get around, and, in its absence,
you might be limited in what you used to be able to accomplish. “You
can have the feeling…(that the) world is literally closing in,” she says.
Loss of sight can impact your social life as well. People usually gravitate
to communities of friends who share similar capacities, so the shift
into blindness can make the person feel out of place amongst their old
networks. It can also shake up romantic relationships, says Di Nino.
Music therapy can be healing in these situations. As a nonverbal
medium, it helps clients process their grief before they’re able to
attach words to their feelings. Later, when their mobility has been
restored, clients can turn to songs to help them forge connections and
keep loneliness at bay. “Music is a social act to be shared,” she says.
Music therapy can also help newly blind clients augment their
remaining sensory capacities and regain their functional independence.
Neurologic music therapist John Hartman, from the Milwaukee
Center for Independence in Wisconsin, uses musical techniques to
boost auditory discrimination. In one exercise, clients try to emulate
the pace and volume of the therapist’s playing, reproducing these on
their own instruments. In another lesson, they concentrate on the
location of sounds, turning their heads towards notes issuing from
instruments spread out in the room.
Hartman also uses music to activate newly blind clients fearful of
flailing around in the dark. Rhythm engages the brain’s motor area,
rousing people into motion. Hartman plays clients well-known action
songs like Row, row, row your boat, which stimulate movements in
response to the musical cues. As clients begin to explore their surroundings
in the safety of familiar pieces, their ability to navigate improves.
Arnowitt hasn’t needed formal music therapy to compensate for
his perceptual loss, since he’s accomplished this naturally. Though the
pianist’s hearing hasn’t changed since he lost his vision, (he already
had a highly trained ear by that time), he’s become better at orienting
himself in the environment. Arnowitt maintains the same organization
of objects in every room, so when he looks for something, his
hand always moves to the same spot. He believes this emphasis on
spatial memory has impacted his piano playing. “The blindness might
have caused me to be more aware of the distances between things, …so
maybe I’m able to play greater jumps…on the piano,” he says.
Arnowitt’s tactile ability has also grown since he lost his vision.
He attributes this development to his increased reliance on the sense
to identify commonly used items like toothpaste, scissors, or a hairbrush.
This experience has, in turn, refined this dimension of perception.
(That)…sensitivity in the fingertips…would make (your) piano
touch a little bit better,” says Arnowitt.
Music has also helped Arnowitt come to terms with the difficulties
issuing from his disability. “(Music) is a peaceful escape from the
world and the frustrations…the blindness creates,” he says. His years of
solo practice have also made him comfortable spending long hours by
himself. He rarely feels alone when he’s at the piano, since the instrument
itself is a companion. So are the composers. “You have a connection
to them even though you didn’t live (during) their time,” he says.
Back at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, “Evening in the
Key of B” is ending. Arnowitt stands and bows. The theatre explodes
with applause and cries of “Whoo, whoo.”
McCleary is relaxed after the show, her seriousness giving way to
a smile as she talks to her parents. “It was a fantastic evening,” says
her father. De Val agrees. “Working with Susanna is a real trip for me…
she’s so professional, so musical,” she says. “It’s a bit of a high.”
Arnowitt too is surrounded by fans. These moments of communion
insulate him from the loneliness that can trouble others with visual
impairment. “I lead an unusual life compared to typical blind people…
every time I perform, I’m surrounded by people afterwards who want
to talk to me and shower me with compliments,” he says.
Every once in a while, spectators go deeper. One time a woman credited
his concert with helping her mourn a death. Times like these
confirm Arnowitt’s own conviction of music’s transformative potential.
“You like to think that making music is more than entertainment,”
says Arnowitt. “When you know someone in the audience had a deeper
experience, it gives myself, as a performer, a special satisfaction.”
Vivien Fellegi is a former family physician now working as a
freelance medical journalist.
SUPPORTING LIVE MUSIC IN ONTARIO & BEYOND – SINCE 1995.
25th SEASON!
Vol 25 No 5
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CONVERSATIONS
On the Early Trail of Indigo
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OPERA SPOTLIGHT
Speranza Scappucci
Lightning Conductor
JAZZ NOTES
My Funny Valentine
A Brief History
REAR VIEW MIRROR
Beethoven @250
Jully Black
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COMBINED ISSUE!
BEHIND THE SCENES
And the trombone shall sound?
The orchestra librarian’s nightmare
NEW MUSIC
The art of falling
Laurie Anderson at 21C
IN CONVERSATION
Scarlatti and beyond
Pianist Lucas Debargue
REARVIEW MIRROR
Merry, um, holidays!
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
NOVEMBER 2019
CONCERT LISTINGS
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CONFLUENCES
Collaboration vs.
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LEGACIES
Grounded in displacement
Composer Udo Kasemets
A centenary celebration
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Controversially
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The Met’s Porgy and Bess
Marion Newman in
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20th Annual
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BLUE PROFILES
2019/20
PAGES
SPOTLIGHT
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
celebrates 125
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Change is coming
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Relaxed performances
bring barriers down
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