This is a rushed edit clip from the Maynooth DeafBlind Conference. You can fill most of the gaps by viewing the other videos.

On the 13th November we will be in London to present at Sense UK Conference. We will have a preview of the London presentation here in the coming months.

The subtitled TV3 news.

ORLA:
Good afternoon everybody, you are all very welcome. Thank you for coming and I hope you are enjoying this very important event for the DeafBlind Community..

My name is Orla, and I am both deaf and visually impaired.

I am a qualified music teacher. I teach Piano and Keyboard to deaf and hearing pupils. I teach from beginners up to diploma level.

This includes all the Theory, Aural, Sightreading, Scales, and Practical skills.

I am the first DeafBlind person to qualify as a music teacher at this level. I am the only DeafBlind person in Ireland to have been taught to this standard.

And my great ambition is to pass this knowledge on to the DeafBlind
Community. To make it possible for anyone to learn, play, and enjoy
Piano and Keyboard to the highest standard.

I am going to begin by showing you a short video of one of my classes with a deaf pupil. His name is Alain, And he is 12 years old. The other star of the show is the “Music Floor”

SHOW ALAIN’S CLASS.. 4 minutes

ORLA:
Are there any questions?

I would like to play a piece on the piano for you to demonstrate that hearing and sight impairment does not mean that you can not learn and
Understand music.

The piece I have chosen is one of my favourites. It’s called Consolations, by Franz Listz.

PLAY CONSOLATION

ORLA:
I am now going to show you another video. This is about the “Music Scholar”

Until recently there was no technical aid suitable for me to read a music score and play simultaneously.
So it was a very long and tedious process for me to learn a piece of music. It meant I had to memorise thousands of notes and composition directions from the music score.

It was my love of music that gave me the patience and determination to do it. But it was exhausting .

That all changed with the Music Scholar.

Now I can read easily, and play while I read. It has saved me so much time and effort. And it has improved my skills as a musician, and as a teacher. Please watch.

PLAY “MUSIC SCHOLAR VIDEO ..4 MINUTES
ORLA:

Any questions?
ORLA:
This is the last video I am going to show. It is with one of my advanced
Students.. Her name is Anna.

PLAY ANNA VIDEO… 8 min

ORLA:

Any other questions?

ORLA:
I’d like to play another piece. This is more modern. It’s called “The Life And Times Of David Lloyd George.

I would like to finish with Clair De Lune, by DeBussy.

THANK YOU.

I have brought some cds with me, for anyone who wishes to buy one. I made the CD to show it could be done by a DeafBlind person. It contains a mixture of classical and popular tunes.. You heard me play some earlier.

Any further information on what I do can be found on my website www.orlaosullivan.ie.

Again I thank you for coming.. and for listening. I would also like to thank Karen Coleman, for bringing me here. She was absolutely brilliant all the way through. I would like to thank Fiona and all the NUI staff , technical, and otherwise for all their help. They made us feel very welcome.

I would like to thank my fellow presenters for all their kindnesses and help and encouragement. I wish them all well for the future. Thank you.

WE MADE THE NATIONAL NEWS:::: TV3
ALAIN AND ORLA INTRODUCE THE IMUSIC FLOOR
TO THEWORLD.. 22-02-2012

Alain and Orla introduce the imusic floor to the world 22-02-2012.

The " imusic floor (c)" was designed and commissioned by Orla O'Sullivan www.orlaosullivan.ie and Dan Elliott. The imusic floor was inspired by conversations with music therapist Russ Palmer (russpalmer.com) and from studying similar technology used in Finland.

The floor allows for the mechanics of amplified music to be absorbed into the body by way of vibrations. With careful observation and annotation of these mechanics a deaf listener is able to learn and decipher the tone, tempo, and volume of music.

With this information the deaf student is able to play a musical instrument. With expert teaching from classicly trained and qualified Orla O'Sullivan the deaf student will be able to gain knowledge to exam standard in Music theory, Aural, and Sightreading. These skills will allow the student to read, write, compose, play and enjoy music in ways that were thought impossible heretofore.

"Disability is no barrier to learning" Orla O'Sullivan 2012.

DeafBlind Conference

Maynooth"

NUI Maynooth, 25-02-2012.
From 10am.

Welcome to the web site of Orla O'Sullivan. The performance below was captured from the KC Sessions at the Crane Lane Theatre in April 2011. In it she plays the the classic "Clair de Lune" by Claude DeBussy. This 200 year old masterpiece is one of Orla's favourites.

Please have a look around the rest of the site, and feel free to get in touch if you like. Orla's new CD, Sound Senses, was officially launched by Evelyn Grant on the 23rd of July, 2010, at the Cork School of Music.