The Guardian Article: "Feel the Music" project teaches deaf children a touch of Beethoven

Studies show musical vibrations can have as much of an impact on the brain as real sounds, and that exposing deaf children to music early on can stimulate their brain music centres. "It's very rare that deaf children get the chance to work together with professional musicians, and especially with an orchestra," Whittaker says. "Not only does it open up a new world to children with hearing handicaps, it also takes musicians out of their comfort zones and makes them think anew about how they hear and understand music."
The Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes teamed up with Paul Whittaker, a profoundly deaf musician, who runs the UK charity Music and the Deaf, to create Feel the Music. This project, a part of the MCO's Beethoven Journey concert series visiting 40 European cities between now and 2015, aims to open up the world of music to hearing-impaired children across Europe.  Part of the project examines the way Beethoven's own deafness greatly influenced his compositions.

After feeling the instruments as they are played, the children are offered a chance to explore a concert hall and experience a performance by the MCO and Andsnes from the heart of a fee-paying audience. Find the full article here. Learn more about Music and the Deaf.