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Ruth Montgomery is a profoundly deaf flautist. Describing the hurdles she faced to become a music educator for deaf children, she muses on the importance of music to all our lives.

A five-part series of essays that explore the dichotomy between being a deaf professional and working with music. Each essayist tells their own story from across the deaf spectrum, including a sign language performer with a passion for music, a violinist who switched to classical piano after a cochlear implant, and a flautist who uses visual art to describe music to deaf children. From horn players to punchy performance artists, all of the essayists consider music from a deaf perspective with illuminating results.

Ruth Montgomery is a profoundly deaf professional flautist and flute teacher who grew up the only deaf person at home. In her essay she details the challenges of her early years, and how being introduced to the flute at her secondary school; a school for deaf children, led to her becoming a professional musician and music educator. She describes the hurdles she faced to be taken seriously, and the dedication that this fostered in her to help other deaf children gain musical appreciation and skills as a vital part of life. Ultimately Ruth has created her own musical education programme, as a way of inspiring deaf children, blending art and music as a way to address the huge gaps she discovered in this field.

A Different Way to Listen is produced by Sophie Allen and Emma Glassar with Mark Rickards as Executive Producer. It is a Flashing Lights Media production for 91热爆 Radio 3. A British Sign Language version was filmed, edited and subtitled by Fifi Garfield.

Available now

14 minutes

Last on

Mon 27 May 2024 21:45

Music Played

  • Thomas Powers

    An Opening

    • A Tyrant Crying In Private.
    • Sensible Anomie.

Broadcast

  • Mon 27 May 2024 21:45

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Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.

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