The Essay

Ruth Montgomery


Listen Later

A five-part series of essays that explore the dichotomy between being a deaf professional and working with music. Each essayist tells their own story from across the deaf spectrum, including a sign language performer with a passion for music, a violinist who switched to classical piano after a cochlear implant, and a flautist who uses visual art to describe music to deaf children. From horn players to punchy performance artists, all of the essayists consider music from a deaf perspective with illuminating results.

Ruth Montgomery is a profoundly deaf professional flautist and flute teacher who grew up the only deaf person at home. In her essay she details the challenges of her early years, and how being introduced to the flute at her secondary school; a school for deaf children, led to her becoming a professional musician and music educator. She describes the hurdles she faced to be taken seriously, and the dedication that this fostered in her to help other deaf children gain musical appreciation and skills as a vital part of life. Ultimately Ruth has created her own musical education programme, as a way of inspiring deaf children, blending art and music as a way to address the huge gaps she discovered in this field.

A Different Way to Listen is produced by Sophie Allen and Emma Glassar with Mark Rickards as Executive Producer. It is a Flashing Lights Media production for BBC Radio 3. A British Sign Language version was filmed, edited and subtitled by Fifi Garfield.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The EssayBy BBC Radio 3

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

82 ratings


More shows like The Essay

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,400 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,835 Listeners

The Penguin Podcast by Penguin Books UK

The Penguin Podcast

147 Listeners

Start the Week by BBC Radio 4

Start the Week

158 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

125 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,675 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

294 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

303 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

506 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,805 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,081 Listeners

The Forum by BBC World Service

The Forum

275 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,947 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,046 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,904 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

594 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

289 Listeners

Bookclub by BBC Radio 4

Bookclub

238 Listeners

The TLS Podcast by The TLS

The TLS Podcast

183 Listeners

Word of Mouth by BBC Radio 4

Word of Mouth

62 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

821 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

725 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,980 Listeners

This Cultural Life by BBC Radio 4

This Cultural Life

103 Listeners