Blind since birth from a rare genetic disorder, called Senior-Løken Syndrome, sophomore Audrey Gaze joined the Mission Bay High School orchestra this year as a pianist.Gaze started playing the piano at age 9, with piano teacher Jim Guerin. He uses the Suzuki method of instruction. The piano has regular keys. There are no Braille-type markings on the keys.“I learn music mainly by listening,” Gaze says of her piano lessons. “I listen to a lot of recordings that my piano teacher makes for me. He makes a recording of the left hand, and he talks about notes and what fingerings I should use. Then he records the right hand and talks to me about that. Then we listen and play, and I have to memorize the pieces, so I practice a lot.”Music teacher Guerin told Times of San Diego how impressed he is with Gaze’s talent. “Piano is the center of her life,” Guerin said. “She has music inside her. She hears all the different parts being played.”
Audrey Gaze, blind from birth, is shown rehearsing with the orchestra at Mission Bay High School during a class session in April. (Photo by Cyril A. Reinicke/Special for Times of San Diego)When asked if her autism presents a special challenge to learning the piano, Guerin was quick to explain, “Audrey just needs to have her instruction presented in a very sequential method…a careful way. Audrey is driven. She is a very hard worker.”Gaze enrolled at Mission Bay High in August 2024 as a freshman. She has a very skilled team to assist her in managing a full schedule of activities. Her specialized support team is skilled in meeting her unique needs as a 10th-grade student who enjoys singing and playing music.
What is Gaze’s day like?
Gaze’s first class starts at 8:45 a.m. Mission Bay High School has an “A” day and “B” day structure for classes. She is enrolled in physical education, wind symphony, Integrated Math 2, English, history, integrated skills, and study skills at the end of each day. Tuesday mornings start at 8 a.m. appointment with Kim Deasy, her certified mobility and orientation specialist. Gaze’s training is critical for blind and visually impaired students to learn to move and navigate around their environment. Training can start as early as three years of age and helps foster independence, starting as early as possible. This past school year, her mobility and orientation training has focused on continuing to learn to navigate the campus: her classrooms, the library, restrooms, lunch areas and food service. She also has community training in and near Mission Bay High School: navigating the edges of sidewalks and stepping off curbs, learning to cross streets safely, understanding what the sounds of traffic patterns mean, among other tasks. These skills must constantly be revisited and rehearsed. These are just a few of the many skills that must become second nature to Gaze in her daily routines to keep her safe.A favorite part of her day is the transitional skills class, taught by her case manager, Ms. Littlefield. In this class, Gaze, along with her classmates, prepares an 11 a.m. snack cart by stocking the cart with various snack items and beverages to be sold to staff. Office and classroom staff look forward to seeing the students each day with the cart. Gaze’s responsibilities change each day: taking payments, tracking inventory, maneuvering the cart through the hallways, and reconciling daily payments with inventory.Four days a week, Gaze meets with Shai Wolman, her teacher for the physically handicapped/visually impaired instructor. Wolman, also blind, is an itinerant teacher with teaching responsibilities at various campuses. Wolman provides support for the array of technology available to Gaze to enhance her classroom learning.Both JP Balmat, director of the Mission Bay Music Program, and Iris Workman, Gaze’s orchestra teacher, say that she is making excellent progress in her playing with an orchestra.“When I play with the orchestra, it’s a little more challenging because sometimes we all have to figure out our parts at the same time,” Gaze said. “But when we finish, it’s a good feeling.”As with all materials for visually impaired and blind students, accessibility is always going to be a challenge, and music is no different. For the 2026-2027 school yearGaze will work with Balmat and her orchestra teacher to identify musical selections thatshe can learn and master by ear. She is driven to do well in music.“I feel proud when I play a piece all the way through,” she said.Three fun facts about Gaze:
She enjoys snorkeling. She enjoys the feeling of just floating free in the waterespecially in Hawaii. She has amassed a collection of over 100 rocks, gathered on hikes with her family. She knows each rock in her collection by name. She attends a weekly indoor wall climbing class at Mesa Rim Climbing Gym.Hence then, the article about i feel proud when i play a piece all the way through blind pianist joins mission bay high s music program was published today ( ) and is available on Times of San Diego ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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