Hearing, memory guides blind violist
Musician didn’t get sheet music translated into Braille, so she’d spend hours memorizing instead
When Rebecca Glass first picked up the viola, she’d worked more than eight hours a day memorizing music.
As a blind musician, she remembers her childhood years in Plano, Texas, as challenging. Some teachers would reject her, saying they had not taught children with disabilities before.
She didn’t get her sheet music translated to Braille because it was a long and expensive process.
Instead, she’d learn by listening and studying recordings.
The most frustrating part would be when people thoughtlessly identified her solely by her disability. It happens less often now.
“Especially, whenever I was younger, it was like, ‘Oh, there’s the blind girl.’ Instead of ‘I know Becky, she plays the viola.’ ”
Despite the difficulties, she persisted. Recently, she performed at the Dallas Museum of Art.
“If I were to define myself with what I do it would be: ‘I am a musician.’ The fact that I’m blind would not come into it. Really. It’s just what is.”
Glass has blossomed into a talented 27-year-old professional musician. She has a doctorate of musical arts in viola performance from the Cleveland Music Institute, which ranks among the top music conservatory programs.
“I obviously worked very hard to identify myself as a musician,” she said.
She played the viola in a recital at the Dallas Museum of Art for the Bancroft Family concert series.
Her love for performing started as a little girl. When Glass was at a wedding, she dropped her flower girl duties and went straight for a piano at the event. A photo captures that moment. She’s so tiny her feet don’t touch the floor, but she’s sitting tall at the grand piano. Her mother, Donna Glass, noticed her 3-year-old daughter was gifted. She moved on from piano to learn the viola around Grade 7.
“From the time she sat down at the piano, she was just fascinated with it. It was intense,” her mother said.
“When she’d get a lesson, she’d have it done within 15 minutes. I could see she had a real passion for music.”
The Plano West Senior High School alumna loves chamber music and small group performances. She sees herself as an educator in the future.
Influential teachers inspired her to motivate the next generation of musicians. Barbara Sudweeks, who performs in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, worked with Glass as a mentor.
“My teachers were the first encouraging me to play at the college level,” she said.
Glass said she wants to get young children interested in classical music. She’s trying to develop a summer camp program with a friend.
And every child, regardless of physical ability, will be welcome.