With dreams of becoming an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, Elwood-John H. Glenn High School rising junior Lily Brown had a great chance to practice her skills with the chorus at the school’s spring concert in May. Brown, who had studied ASL for the past two years, and her chorus teacher, Brittany Wheeler, decided it would be nice to have one of their songs interpreted at the concert.

“John Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’ happened to provide the perfect canvas for ASL interpretation, and was simple enough that Lily was able to teach some of the signs to the entire chorus,” Wheeler said. “She provided each student with a ‘gloss,’ which is used to transcribe the various signs and grammatical structure for the lyrics in American Sign Language. She led class instruction, carefully demonstrating the proper technique for each sign, and even made videos so the students in the chorus classes could practice at home.”

In June, Glenn’s chorus performed their rendition of “Imagine” at the Music in the Parks festival at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. The judges were so impressed with Brown’s performance that they gave her a special award for “Outstanding Student Accompanist” at the Music in the Parks awards ceremony.

Date Added: 7/16/2024