Music students help the deaf "hear" music — and learn a lot in the process. It’s amazing what we take for granted. I won’t in the future," said an Ithaca College Brass Choir member after a day spent doing something she’d never done before. During the spring semester the School of Music welcomed children and teachers from the BOCES Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Program to an interactive performance with the brass choir — part of an ongoing collaborative project designed to provide music experiences for deaf elementary school students. The project was the brainchild of graduate student Krista Johnson, who took associate professor Keith Kaiser’s Psychology of Music class last fall. After class discussions on psychological aspects of music, uses of music, and research in music therapy, Johnson approached Kaiser. "She asked me," recalls Kaiser, "if I would work with her on a project to provide music for deaf children. Her own father and brother are deaf. So she taught me some sign language and gave me some background in working with this population. I assisted her by making contacts, providing guidance, and designing activities." "When Krista mentioned the chance to do this — to teach music to the deaf, which nobody had ever imagined," says music education major Katie Sims ’01, "we all were kind of shocked. But she got us enthused about it. She explained how to talk and make eye contact. The day they came we were so excited."