THE POWER OF THE RHYTHM

Music is an inclusive art form with transformative power.

These words could ring no truer than they will at White Oak Music Hall on Thursday, when 16 ReelMusicians, or artists living with disabilities in their early 20s to mid-60s, will have a chance to perform onstage alongside a house band featuring four of the city’s top musicians — Kelly Dean, Andrew Lienhard, David Craig and Daleton Lee.

ReelMusic, a night of musical entertainment that will be emceed by Houston Public Media’s Ernie Manouse, wraps up the seventh annual ReelAbilities Houston Film & Arts Festival, a 10-day program presented by Jewish Family Service in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.

“I like to say that we are all about the five e’s,” said Dee Dee Dochen, chair of ReelMusic and co-chair of the entire festival. “Our mission is to educate, enlighten, erase stigmas associated with disabilities, pave pathways to employment and, of course,

entertain.”

Quite a few of the ReelMusicians were introduced to this opportunity through TIRR Memorial Hermann, a rehabilitation and research hospital. Yet many of them already had a musical background.

Ron Ryans, who lost the use of one of his arms following a stroke, is a longtime music teacher and Eman Gilligan, who was left a paraplegic after being shot during a robbery, is a guitarist in his family’s band, The Sundogs.

Another performer to return to the stage made his debut last year in the final, show-stopping moments of the evening, Dochen said. From his wheelchair, Luis Cortez, a now-27-year-old man with cerebral palsy, created much movement, joyfully flailing his arms and activating his canstrument, a motionbased instrument that uses an iOS device to translate musical expression.

As the house band joined in the surrounding spirit rose and any differences were brushed aside. In fact, they were celebrated.

“When we don’t hold back in music,” Dochen said, “we forget about the things that hold us back.”