Recently I had the opportunity to participate in the 5th annual Beats of Cochlea festival in Warsaw, Poland. It is a festival that celebrates the achievements of musicians with cochlear implants from all over the world. The festival is held at the World Hearing Center. It features the big Gala concert held at the Palladium Theater in Warsaw. Out of 19 participants, 10 were chosen to perform at the Gala. I was not selected to perform but that gave me the opportunity to support my friends while sitting in the front row.
We also had a series of classes and activities. My favorite of them were the world folk dances. They are similar to Sufi dancing where everyone dances together in a circle holding hands and using simple movements and gestures. Our other workshop was an interactive jam session where we were all given percussion instruments and we all sang and played together. It was a good feeling to sing and play music with people from all over the world. We may not have been able to speak well in each other’s native language, but music said more than any words could express.
This was my second time participating in the Beats of Cochlea festival and I"m so grateful I got to have this experience. If you are a musician with a cochlear implant, I recommend auditioning to participate!
