For the blind and sight-impaired, there is no special access to the world of visual art.  How can someone who is blind ever see a painting, or know the special visual language of such an influential artist as Vincent Van Gogh, an artist whose works have become a touchstone of Western culture?

The power of words alone will not suffice to bring to life the vibrancy of color in a Van Gogh landscape, or the heartbreaking expression in the eyes of one of his portraits.  Perhaps the key lies in Van Gogh’s own words about his art:  “in a picture I want to say something comforting as music is comforting,” he wrote to his brother Theo in the Fall of 1888.

Starry Nights began as a song-cycle based on the letters of Van Gogh.  My original intention was to bring to life the paintings of Van Gogh for the blind, and to create a living musical and theatrical museum of his work.  The project has since grown into a full-length musical/opera whose book is currently being rewritten.

“Music Without Bounds” is a chance to give the magic and power of music to hundreds of blind and sight-impaired people and their friends and family all over Massachusetts.  This concert will be the first of many that provide Braille invitations, program notes, lyrics and a description of each musical scene.  We hope not only to encourage the blind community to attend this concert, but to make all concerts more accessible to everyone in our community.

I invite you to join us in a special evening of music for the blind community and their friends and family on Tuesday, January 10, 2005 at 8:00 pm at the Edward Pickman Concert Hall at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA.  Admission is free and open to the public.  For directions, go to www.longy.edu.  To reserve tickets, email us at reservations@starrynightsthemusical.com.