From
The Towerlight, the student newspaper at Towson University in Maryland:
To most members of the Towson University TIGER Marching Band, sheet music is a direction in performance. The written notes denote the specific sound and rhythm that create the theme to ESPN’s “Sports Center,” guaranteed to drive the crowd at any Towson sporting event wild.
To Jeremy Harvey (pictured), who plays synthesizer in the front ensemble of the marching band, notes don’t mean anything. He can’t see them.
The freshman piano performance major was born prematurely, leaving him with low vision in his left eye and cerebral palsy, a physical disorder that limits his mobility, especially in areas like his hands.
“With music it’s kind of interesting because as soon as I sit down to a piano or an instrument, some of that seems to disappear,” Harvey said. “I don’t know why, but that’s just the way it is.”
Cerebral Palsy is a chronic disorder is caused by the brain’s ability to adequately control the body, leaving those diagnosed with symptoms such as difficulty walking, speaking or even mental retardation, according to 4MyChild, a foundation working to advance research cerebral palsy.
While there is sometimes of a derived view of cerebral palsy patients as speechless victims confined to wheelchairs, Jeremy freely speaks about his challenges as a college student with challenges.
“I always look for things in each day that just get me though. I think there’s so much to love about life … and I think the problems that are facing the world right now are far outweighed by everything good that’s come about as life progresses.”
And while he uses an electrically powered scooter to get from his dorm in the Glen Complex to his classes in the Center for the Arts, he recalls his fondest moments in the machine racing against a friend in a power chair at summer camp.
“He would always win,” Harvey said, adding that his friend could change the gears on his chair to go faster. “I always thought that was unfair, sometimes I would ask him if we could switch.”
Jeremy’s challenges with hand-eye coordination and muscle manipulation aren’t always easy to overcome.
During marching band practice Harvey can’t learn his instrument’s part through sheet music. He plays it by ear.
Director of the marching band John Miliauskas sends Harvey audio files of the synthesizer part in each of the arrangements the band will be performing and Harvey takes over from there.
“I listen to it once to get general details, and often times I’m not completely accurate,” Harvey said. “Certain pieces come faster than others, but usually it takes two [or more] listens to get them down. I have to create a mental map of the piece in my mind so I remember the order of events in the piece.”
Harvey will perform with the band for the first time during Saturday’s home football game against Coastal Carolina. Harvey plans on treating his performance like another practice.
“I hope I’m going to survive the next two rehearsals in the hot afternoon,” he said. “Mr. M just keeps reinforcing over and over again that all the suffering will pay off, and I truly believe it will.”
During his senior year of high school, Harvey contacted Miliauskas about his interest in joining the marching band via e-mail and they met during the summer to determine what kinds of accommodations the band would have to make for him. But Miliauskas said he had no reservations in including Harvey in the band.
“It’s not just that he’s participating, it’s really that he’s going to be a pretty major contributor to the overall sound of the band,” Milauskas said. “He’s the kind of guy that hears something and immediately can play it. He has some of those hearing talents that are extraordinarily unique.”
Harvey plays in the pit, a stationary section of the band that includes the marimba, electric guitar and bass.
“Sometimes we all struggle with our music, but at the same time I think there’s valuable lessons to be learned through that,” Harvey said. “I’ve got a lot of support from my friends in the pit.”
While his scooter can get him from his dorm to class and most practices, he has trouble walking further distances.
“I always say that walking for everybody else is like running for me,” Harvey said. “So essentially I ‘run’ wherever I go.”
He gets back and forth from his dorm in the Glen Complex to his classes in the Center for the Arts in an electric scooter. For practice, especially those at Johnny Unitas Stadium, members of the band provide Harvey rides.
However, there is more Harvey can do for himself then it looks like, he said.
“Sometimes people can take it worse than it really is and sometimes they try to give me more help then I need,” he said. “But I think as a person with physical challenges I have to know how to graciously accept it. I do find that people have their hearts in the right place, and I think as their understanding of people with disabilities grows I think they’ll be more informed.”
From The Towerlight, the student newspaper at Towson University in Maryland:
