SF gay chorus using ASL

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus is not only going virtual this holiday season, but the 300-member chorus will also perform "Silent Night" while using ASL. Read more about it from NBC News here or watch a preview below.

All the Alter Boy songs performed in Auslan

The Australian pop band Alter Boy includes three deaf members. All their songs performed in Auslan (Australian sign language). Lead singer Molly says:

We use lots of sub and bass tones so that deaf folks can feel the beat, as well as visual performance and Australian sign language (Auslan). Another common misconception is that deaf people can't play instruments or sing. We are just as talented and as untalented as the rest of you.

Read the full interview here. Below is one of their videos:

Deaf dancer wears haptic vest to feel music

London-based dancer and choreographer Chris Fonseca uses a tactile audio platform called SubPac to feel music through pulses against his body rather than soundwaves in his ear. Here is a CNN report about Fonseca.

Musical collaboration

The musical duo called the Skivvies has joined with deaf actor Joshua Castille and others who work with Deaf West Theatre to perform in a short video of I Am What I Am from La Cage Aux Folles.

Deaf Rapper Making History

Deaf rapper Sean Forbes is close to making history--he's about to become the first deaf artist to break into the Billboard Top 200. He's already the first deaf musician to hit #1 on Amazon music list for all genres as well as #1 in the hip hop category both on Amazon and iTunes. His new release is called Little Victories. Fox-2 Detriot has a video interview with Forbes (or read the story here).

Was Beethoven HoH instead of Deaf?

Kent State researchers say Ludwig van Beethoven was not completely deaf as is commonly believed. The theory is that "the composer still had hearing in his left ear until shortly before his death in 1827. Theodore Albrecht, professor of musicology at Kent State University, told the Observer:

Not only was Beethoven not completely deaf at the premiere of his Ninth Symphony in May 1824, he could hear, although increasingly faintly, for at least two years afterwards, probably through the last premiere that he would supervise, his String Quartet in B-flat, Op 130, in March 1826.

Read more here.

Marching Band incorporates ASL into its show

The Ferndale Marching Band from Ferndale, Michigan is using sign language in its halftime performances with help from Detroit-based deaf rapper Sean Forbes. The show is called The Sounds of Silence and about halfway through, the students stop playing their instruments and perform Forbes' song Watch These Hands in ASL. The video below of Forbes and the band practicing was posted by Cars 108, a Flint, Michigan radio station.

Signmark in Hong Kong

Image from https://twitter.com/signmarkmusic

Finnish deaf rapper Signmark is preparing for his second performance in Hong Kong next month. He was born deaf and says:

My family is deaf, but my grandparents are hearing, so th
ey didn’t know any sign language. I watched as my grandfather was playing the piano and my grandmother was singing. I began lip-reading what she was singing and then I started signing it to my parents. They got involved and realized that music is something that connects people. “Then I translated hundreds of songs into sign language; different artists’ songs, for instance those of Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson and Metallica.

The South China Morning Post takes a look at the remarkable artist here.

Ariana Grande's New Video

Ariana Grande just released her new video 7 Rings with captioning. The move comes after she failed to include captioning on her video thank u, next. Nyle DiMarco called her out for the mistake, saying, “466 million people with hearing loss” who would like to watch it." Below is the new video.

He's Bringing Hip-Hop to the Deaf

Matt Maxey is the founder of DEAFinitely Dope, "an organization that aims to bring the deaf and hearing communities together through music." CNN has a profile of Matt here.

Heavy metal concert terp gets noticed

Lindsay Rothschild-Cross' interpretation of a June 20 metal concert in Austin was caught on video and has racked up tons of views online, reports ABC News. She says it was her first time to work with this genre. Here's a video interview from ABC News.

Deaf Jazz Singer Hits All the Right Notes

"Despite not being able to hear for nearly a decade, a jazz musician still commands the stage," reports NBC News. Below is a link to a video about Mandy Harvey.

Deaf 'America's Got Talent' singer Touring

The deaf siner who gained fame on America's Got Talent was in Biose yesterday. Mandy Harvey spoke with KTVB-TV.

Captioning at Broadway Shows

A free smartphone app is giving Broadway audiences closed captioning during performances. The GalaPro app works in airplane mode. The text shows up on a user's phone with a black screen to avoid disturbing other patrons. Read more about from NPR here.

Bringing Hip-Hop to the Deaf

The Great Big Story visits with Matt Maxey in the video below. Matt learned to sign when he was 18 years old by signing along with rap artists. Now, he terps hip-hop for artists like Chance the Rapper and D.R.A.M.

Deaf Singer Gets Death Threats

Some people in the Deaf community sent Mandy Harvey death threats for her appearance on NBC's America's Got Talent. She says some activists objected to her "promoting a 'hearing' activity." Harvey got worldwide attention after working her way to the show's finals. She tells the BBC, "I used to get some pretty strongly-worded letters and death threats. I got a lot of backlash from certain people in that community because I was promoting oralism." Read the full story here. Below is a video of one of her AGT appearances.

On Deafness and Music

"When I got a cochlear implant seven years ago, after being profoundly deaf for my entire life, hearing friends and acquaintances started asking me the same few questions: Had I heard music yet? Did I like it? What did it sound like?" That's how Rachel Kolb started her essay On Deafness and Music published in the New York Times. You can read it here.

Deaf Music Fans Are Finally Starting To Be Heard

Buzzfeed takes a look at how ASL and deaf music fans have found a place at festivals and concerts in recent years in an article here.

Deaf singer makes it to ‘America’s Got Talent’ semifinals

A Colorado singer moved into the semifinals of “America’s Got Talent” after performing a song she wrote called Mara's Song. The judges stood and gave Mandy Harvey a standing ovation when she finished. Mandy Harvey lost her hearing as as teen. Here's a video of that performance.

Terps visualize noise for deaf fans at Lollapalooza

Amber Galloway-Gallego has choosen not to use a traditional style of interpreting: Instead of avoiding movement that might distract from music performances or trying to represent the musical instruments, she and some other ASL interpreters hope to bring their work to life with a full-immersion style of communicating. Read the story here.