April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
MUSIC MINISTRY
Braille helps cantor sing a new song
But Ms. Mann's learning curve for new songs is different: She receives the lyrics through email, which she reads using a special keyboard and then types up in Braille. The parish's director of music and liturgy records the melody for her.
"I send music clips to my whole choir, but it kind of started with Jean," said LouAnn Cleary, the director. "God bless her; I don't know how she keeps it all straight. She's amazing."
Ms. Mann, a soprano, is the only member of the choir who is blind. Her home office has two bookcases filled with hymns she has translated into Braille, a system of writing in which characters are formed by patterns of raised dots felt with the fingers.
She also archives books of the Bible and parts of the Mass sent to her by the Xavier Society for the Blind.
Always around
Ms. Mann worked as a computer programmer for the State of New York for 30 years; she retired three years ago. She has sung at Christ the King for two decades and often gets recognized in town.
"Sometimes it's a little embarrassing, because I don't think I'm better than anyone else," she said.
But her presence inspires others, said Rev. James Fitzmaurice, pastor, calling attention to "her willingness to make up for the things that we take for granted. She's always present and doesn't let anything stop her. She's got a real love for the Church and for music."
Ms. Cleary agreed, saying: "She's a very happy person - and that comes through when she's cantoring."
She noted that Ms. Mann finds her way to music stands and microphones with ease: "When they realize that she's blind, they're just amazed.
"She's always willing to help," Ms. Cleary continued. "We were sorting music and she said, 'If someone can just tell me where the piles are and how you want them organized, I can help.'"
Ms. Mann sings at Sunday morning Masses, at funerals as needed and also occasionally at the Dominican Retreat and Conference Center in Niskayuna. She doesn't know how many other blind Catholics live in the area and hasn't shared her hymnal binders; she worries that her Braille style wouldn't be universally understood.
Always musical
Singing, Ms. Mann said, "comes naturally to me." Her father sang and she took piano lessons as a child. "It's a way to be involved. They say that you should share your time, your talent and your treasure."
Ms. Mann was born two months premature and received too much oxygen, leading to complete blindness. Her twin brother was also born legally blind, but was able to see with glasses.
She attended public school in Tonawanda, a suburb of Buffalo, until high school, when she started at the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia. She took two years of college classes before moving to Albany and receiving training in typing, filing and mobility from the Northeastern Association of the Blind.
Ever-faithful
Ms. Mann was Catholic from birth, but struggled and left the Church for a time as a teenager. But "when my brother asked me to be the godmother for my nephew, I decided I'd better go back," she said. "I can't imagine not having [my faith] now."
She said her faith helps her cope with death and the evil in the world: "It makes you less angry. I look at things differently. I look at the good in people. When you stay angry, you're only hurting yourself. If I wasn't going to church, I wouldn't know that."
Ms. Mann's blindness rarely frustrates her. "The only thing I get angry about is that I can't jump in my car and go someplace," she said, noting: "Everybody has challenges, whether you can see or not."[[In-content Ad]]
250 X 250 AD
250 X 250 AD
Events
250 X 250 AD
Comments:
You must login to comment.