Welcome to The National Resource Center for Blind Musicians

A division of the Music and Arts Center for Humanity in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The resource center provides information and referral services for visually impaired students of all ages, their parents and teachers; learning opportunities for blind students headed to college; and maintains a network of visually impaired musicians willing to share their expertise in braille music, technology and coping strategies. The Resource Center is best known for its Summer Institute for Blind College-bound Musicians, a residential program which brings together students from several states and countries, who are studying music at the college level. Other activities of the resource Center include development of programs for blind children in Connecticut and teacher training.

Picture: Students in sight singing class reading braille music.

Picture: David Goldstein, director of the Resource Center and developer of this web site, works with student at the computer.

The Resource Center is funded largely through the generous support of foundations and individuals. Expansion of our outreach and online services was made possible in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. We thank the NEC Foundation of America, which, along with the Summer Institute and many other projects, has helped fund development of this Web site from its very beginnings.

The purpose of this web site is primarily to acquaint students, and the teachers who help them, with the many sources of materials and strategies that have been developed to give visually impaired people equal opportunities for learning and enrichment in music, and to provide direct links to the music-related services of other organizations that may be useful. Eventually, students and teachers will be able to sign up for distance learning courses on this site. The Resource Center has a small staff, and its ability to help comes mainly from being able to refer callers to people we have found over the years with expertise in particular areas. To answer most questions, we refer to the same services given on this site. We hope that the various pages on this site will give you at least the background information you need, and we will be happy to work with you directly on finding further solutions. If you would like to exchange ideas and music experiences with others, we recommend looking into the various listservs mentioned in our resource list.

Picture: Students enjoying recital day.

Tips on Navigation.

This site is set up like a book, with a separate page for each subject, and a table of contents. Subject pages with more than one section will begin with their own tables of contents. Important navigation links are always at the bottom of the page. The bottom-most link will return you to the main table of contents on this home page. Screen reader users will find the commands to jump to headings or paragraphs particularly efficient on this site. Readers may also find the "back" command (backspace or Alt plus Left Arrow) useful for returning to a previously read page.

Contact Information:

National Resource Center for Blind Musicians
Music and Arts Center for Humanity
510 Barnum Avenue
Bridgeport, Connecticut, 06608
Telephone: 203-366-3300
Fax: 203-368-2847
E-mail: info@blindmusicstudent.org

Home Page Main Table of Contents, 12 pages:

Page 1: Quick Facts -- Braille Music, Technology, the National Resource Center.
Page 2: The Summer Institute.
Page 3: Connecticut Happenings -- News from Our Home Base.
Page 4: Announcements of General Interest.
Page 5: If you are a teacher or doing research.
Page 6: Technology and Classroom Demonstrations.
Page 7: Low Vision -- for those who need enlargement or don't use braille.
Page 8: Comprehensive Resource List.
Page 9: Feedback and Survey form -- we'd like to know who you are, your music needs, and suggestions for service.
Page 10: E-mail the Resource Center.
Page 11: The Music and Arts Center for Humanity web site.

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