Joanne Roughton-Arnold, Visually Impaired Opera Singer - Life in Lockdown

May 16, 2020, 03:11 PM

In this podcast you will hear me catching up and having a chat with visually impaired opera singer, Joanne Roughton-Arnold who is also a music teacher and  the co-founder of FormidAbility, Britain’s first fully accessible opera company.
If you caught  my interview with Joanne on Radio 4’s In Touch programme last summer, you will  have heard  Joanne talk about why she traveled halfway around the world from New Zealand to the UK to study the violin, her move to  opera singing and what it is like performing on stage as a visually impaired singer and why Joanne set up FormidAbility.
In this interview I did with Joanne via Zoom we chatted about what life is like for her during lockdown as a visually impaired singer performer and musician.
How easy it might be or not trying to link up with other singers and musicians via video platforms such as Zoom.
What it is like for Joanne teaching singing and the violin via video and any specific issues or problems for her  teaching in this way as a visually impaired person. 
And you will hear joanne talk about two very exciting projects that she is currently working on in lockdown, one for the Paraorchastra and hints on a very exciting project for FormidAbility.