In 2009, I embarked on a very exciting project which is starting to take flight. I started writing a memoir about my life as a blind opera singer, artist, and person. In my life, there have been so many instances of people wanting to ask questions about "my world," and they've wanted to make heads or tails of my experience in a way they could understand. Some people have simply been curious, others have been fascinated, others have been fearful, and then a few have put up barriers as a protection to shield them from a phenomenonwhich they fear. I hope this memoir will gently alleviate people of these fears, share with them that I have dreams and live them every day in the form of a rich, wonderful, and beautiful life. Mostly, I hope this will serve as a way to educate people. I recently found out that this book will be published by a wonderful publisher called Seven Stories which is distributed by Random House.
At the same time my book was being written, a composer named Bruce Adolphe who is affiliated with Lincoln Center and who also has his own show on National Public Radio, asked to co-write a piece for me. It is extremely rare for a singer to participate as a poet in a composition, playing a double role as writer and performer. The poem describes many of the things my book does in a nutshell. It's a short detour through my life via the visual things I perceive without physically seeing them. Bruce and I were approached by a very well respected record label in the new classical music industry to release this piece among three other sets of songs, one being a set of songs by a very well known blind composer, Joaquin Rodrigo. The album will be entitled, "Do You Dream in Color?" just like the poem. However, because of the Internet and many other difficulties facing the recording industry, Bridge Records, among most other labels, do not have deep pockets, and require fund raising to be done for an album to be recorded, produced, released, and promoted. We have received one small grant for this project, but need to continue raising money to make this a reality.
We have launched a campaign on-line where people can participate in helping this project along. This is a very important venture to me which I've worked very hard on, and put a huge part of my life and soul into as you can imagine. I live as a blind individual every day, facing people's questions, fears, discrimination, but enjoying the joy of seeing those being educated which will help me and blind individuals for generations to come. My belief is that my book and the CD which are slated to be released/published simultaneously, will be able to make a bigger impact than I could ever do as an individual. People can express themselves more powerfully and learn more personally through music, and I think the ability to have this out there for people Nation and worldwide is so important not just for the blind or disabled, but for anyone who has a different path in life and who still reaches for their dreams and aspirations. It is a universal thing I believe every individual faces in life at some point.
I recently got a small grant from Yale University Alumni Ventures to devise a curriculum for blind and sighted students, educators of both blind and sighted children, and potential employers of blind people in the workforce which will also use the recording of "Do You Dream in Color?" as a means for discussion and the basis for the curriculum. So there are many exciting things about this project in the works.
We need to raise $20,000 in a month, and if we do not meet this bench mark, we will not receive any of the moneys accumulated up until that point. Anything helps, whether it be a dollar. Also, please pass this along to others who you think would be interested in this project. If you donate certain amounts, you get certain perks like dinner with the artists, jewelry custom designed for you by me and my jewelry line, The LR Look, and many more. Please see the link below for details, as well as a short video with excerpts from the piece.
Thank you in advance for your help. It is much appreciated, and I look forward to embarking on many exciting adventures with all of you via this exciting venture.
Best,
Laurie
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