The Met holds concert with blind and visually impaired performers

NEW YORK (PIX11) — May is Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and PIX11 News wants to introduce you to one truly amazing 11-year-old Asian American boy who is part of a concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He is Hau Wen Deng, a blind fifth grader from Flushing, Queens.

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Hau Wen took center stage at the “Fil at the Met” concert to play Franz Liszt’s Au Lac de Wallenstadt.

All the performers on the stage were blind or visually impaired and studied music at the Filomena M. d’Agostino Greenberg School at 92nd Street Y.

This concert was called “Making Waves,” and the artwork and music were all about water.

It’s one way to make art more accessible to those with vision loss.

“We prepare the performers in advance with touch tours and visits to the museum,” Rebecca McGinnis, Met accessibility educator, told PIX11 News.

The FMDG Music School is for people of all ages, from five to 95, and with vision impairments, including blindness.

Hao Wen stands out with his podcast Blind Kids Life and his innate musicality.

“Hao Wen is a very special student,” Leslie Jones, the executive director of FMDG Music School, told PIX11 News. “He has been with us for close to five years. He is curious and an excellent braille reader. And he has that something special that he deeply understands the beauty and emotion of music,” Jones added.

When PIX11 spoke to Hau Wen before the concert about his piano playing, he said, “Just like anything, it starts out hard, but if you keep at it, master the art of playing. It’s not so bad.”

If you want to know more about this Filomena M. D’Agostino Greenberg school, go here.

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