"Hope can come from anywhere; just carry on without a care"
It was a sunny, yet extremely windy Tuesday in Blackburn when I was about to meet the young Scotsman. Musicians have a tendency to be wild both in looks and personality; this man couldn't be more different.
A young man standing tall in confidence with an impression
which oozed confidence, this was it, my interview with an upcoming, extremely
humble and talented blind musician.
We met at Blackburn College in the newly built Beacon
Centre. The library was where I would
learn about my subject. A room within a library full of students that was small
and dull but this young man sat with a shine which brightened up the room.
David Connelly who has been blind from birth has adopted an
outlook on life that can only give one respect for the Scot and leave one
feeling guilty for complaining about minor aspects of life.
"I can't go back, so I might as well go forward"
David started to master his red starburst acoustic guitar
from the age of eight, being taught by his Grandfather.
"Music is a big inspiration for me; I use music as a
release from the stresses of life, Adrenaline pumps through me whilst I play my
guitar. I play to impress and please my audience, that’s what makes me
happy"
David, always wanting
to please everyone around him and to make all he has met proud.
David who started off at
a mainstream primary school went on to progress and study at St. Vincent’s
School which is a specialist school for blind and partially sighted students.
David’s attitude in life is such that anything that happens or that he has to
face, he will look at everything with a positive and this is highlighted in the
first song he wrote entitled ‘Upside Downside’.
“If something goes wrong in life, trying to go
upside or downside, - upside is positive and downside is negative”
David’s Grandma and
Granddad gave him not only the inspiration to write this first song after their
sad passing, but also moulding David into the person that he is today.
After David had finished
his studies at St Vincent’s he moved onto a specialist college called Henshaws
College for the blind in Harrogate to further his independence skills. Once he
had done this, David wanted to come back home and focus on his education which
is when he came to Blackburn College. His continuous love for music has never
left him wherever he goes. David has never let his disability stop him life.
“I would say that you
can make being blind a disability but I think being blind is simply doing things
in different ways”
David came back to
mainstream education and studied an entry level course in IT however couldn’t
resist studying music and therefore is now currently studying a level three
diploma BTEC in music.
“I treat life very
positivly; mobility can be difficult at times outside and inside college.
Braille music is also
difficult to learn but I will not let my disability stop me from achieving my
course.”
David has also started
to gig and is being invited to several events to perform.
“My disability is an
advantage when performing because I can’t see the audience when I am on stage”
David is also a
vehement sports fan and adores his international football team, Scotland. When
asked whether David would rather perform or watch Scotland play, he was torn
but said in his deep Scottish accent:
“That’s a very
difficult answer, I would have to say I would rather perform than watch the
mighty Scots play”
Through the
independence David gained from his earlier years in life he is now living in
sheltered accommodation. David has started to become a song writer as well as a
musician and aims to one day become a professional performer but would always
love to teach the guitar or keyboard to others as David can also play the
keyboard.
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