The conference will feature deaf musicians discussing their experiences and the challenges of making music
The University of Liverpool and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) are organising a conference to disseminate their research exploring group performance for musicians with a hearing impairment that considers whether the use of vibration could be used to aid interaction.
Researchers from the University’s Acoustic Research Unit will present their latest findings from research on the use of vibration to present music to the hands and feet of the body.
Dr Carl Hopkins, Head of the Acoustic Research Unit, said: “This conference brings together the results of interdisciplinary, collaborative research between Liverpool and the RNCM with the experiences of musicians and music teachers that have a hearing impairment.”
The conference features deaf musicians discussing their experiences and the challenges of making music as well as short performances by Janine Roebuck, a professional opera singer who suffers from a progressive sensori-neural hearing loss which has made her severely deaf. In addition there will be a duo comprising flautist, Ruth Montgomery who was born profoundly deaf, and pianist, Emmanuel Vass.
Other participants in the conference include Danny Lane, a profoundly deaf pianist who has written a guide for music teachers that teach deaf children and Angela Taylor, a researcher of music education who has suffered from moderate hearing loss from birth.
The conference, organised in association with the RNCM, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Music for the Deaf, will take place on Thursday, 30 May 2013 at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Attendance is free but please email research@rncm.ac.uk to book a place.
The research was funded by the AHRC and was flagged by Research Councils UK and Universities UK as one of the ‘Big ideas for the Future’.
