Our Story
The Bliss iBand is a group of adults with physical disabilities who get together weekly to explore the possibilities of actively making music together with virtual instruments apps found in their Apple iPads.
The Bliss i-Band is now in its eighth year (2021) of activity and has demonstrated the benefits to be enjoyed by adults with physical disabilities (many of whom are nonspeaking and use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices) in coming together to make music.
With the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the Bliss i-Band has transferred from weekly in-person sessions, to zoom meetings. At the beginning the many technical complications of transmitting music in a zoom meeting seemed overwhelming, but we have found a way to adjust the zoom settings and take turns, and use selected instruments, and allow one member to play with Aaron at a time. Our focus has turned from playing music in the same room and hearing our collective sound, to practicing (on mute) while one member has a solo accompanied by Aaron. Everyone takes turns. Then each member records his or her part, and Aaron and Moshe produce music videos, blending all the parts together. They have produced seven music videos and another editing team, composed of Julie Millar, Rebecca Chan and Shirley McNaughton, have produced two narrative videos that include performances by the Bliss i-Band. Our third narrative video will be featured on November 24, 2021, as we celebrate 50 Years of Bliss!
The Bliss i-Band is a community based group that relies on funding from private foundations, government councils and individual donors. The founding and current sponsor is the Lillian Meighen and Don Wright Foundation. The iBand is also supported by The Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Toronto Arts Council.
In 2021, a special grant was awarded to the Bliss i-Band from the Resilient Communities Fund of the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). This funding has enabled us to make the transition to producing videos. With this training and experience we hope to continue producing films as part of the iBand’s activities.
The iBand was started by Audrey King, (psychologist) and Shirley McNaughton, (educator) in 2013. Shirley also served as the first, Music Director, bringing to the role her experiences in teaching Carl Orff Music for Children and i-Pad music with seniors.
They were ably assisted by Andy Stark, technology specialist, who continued to train and assist the group for the first three years of operation. After the first year of activity, Shirley and the group invited Aaron Lightstone to take over the role of Music Director. Aaron continues to bring his expertise as professional musician, music teacher and music therapist.
The general purposes of the Bliss i-Band at time of its formation were:
• To provide learning experiences for Bliss users/alumni and their supporters through a musical program that uses virtual instrument technology (iPad) to play ensemble arrangements of familiar songs, along with solo and dyad improvisation.
• To facilitate social interaction through ensemble playing and attending musical events together.
• To increase community awareness with respect to the abilities of individuals who are nonspeaking through demonstrating their musical accomplishments.
As the years have progressed, we have seen all these founding objectives realized, and we continue to see new breakthroughs and developments each year. Producing videos and expanding our group to involve distance members on zoom have been our most recent accomplishments.
The Bliss i-Band is now in its eighth year (2021) of activity and has demonstrated the benefits to be enjoyed by adults with physical disabilities (many of whom are nonspeaking and use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices) in coming together to make music.
With the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the Bliss i-Band has transferred from weekly in-person sessions, to zoom meetings. At the beginning the many technical complications of transmitting music in a zoom meeting seemed overwhelming, but we have found a way to adjust the zoom settings and take turns, and use selected instruments, and allow one member to play with Aaron at a time. Our focus has turned from playing music in the same room and hearing our collective sound, to practicing (on mute) while one member has a solo accompanied by Aaron. Everyone takes turns. Then each member records his or her part, and Aaron and Moshe produce music videos, blending all the parts together. They have produced seven music videos and another editing team, composed of Julie Millar, Rebecca Chan and Shirley McNaughton, have produced two narrative videos that include performances by the Bliss i-Band. Our third narrative video will be featured on November 24, 2021, as we celebrate 50 Years of Bliss!
The Bliss i-Band is a community based group that relies on funding from private foundations, government councils and individual donors. The founding and current sponsor is the Lillian Meighen and Don Wright Foundation. The iBand is also supported by The Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Toronto Arts Council.
In 2021, a special grant was awarded to the Bliss i-Band from the Resilient Communities Fund of the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). This funding has enabled us to make the transition to producing videos. With this training and experience we hope to continue producing films as part of the iBand’s activities.
The iBand was started by Audrey King, (psychologist) and Shirley McNaughton, (educator) in 2013. Shirley also served as the first, Music Director, bringing to the role her experiences in teaching Carl Orff Music for Children and i-Pad music with seniors.
They were ably assisted by Andy Stark, technology specialist, who continued to train and assist the group for the first three years of operation. After the first year of activity, Shirley and the group invited Aaron Lightstone to take over the role of Music Director. Aaron continues to bring his expertise as professional musician, music teacher and music therapist.
The general purposes of the Bliss i-Band at time of its formation were:
• To provide learning experiences for Bliss users/alumni and their supporters through a musical program that uses virtual instrument technology (iPad) to play ensemble arrangements of familiar songs, along with solo and dyad improvisation.
• To facilitate social interaction through ensemble playing and attending musical events together.
• To increase community awareness with respect to the abilities of individuals who are nonspeaking through demonstrating their musical accomplishments.
As the years have progressed, we have seen all these founding objectives realized, and we continue to see new breakthroughs and developments each year. Producing videos and expanding our group to involve distance members on zoom have been our most recent accomplishments.
