[O'CONNOR]
At Salisbury University, a new ASL concert is showing how music can be experienced beyond sound. Hosted alongside the Deaf Independent Living Association, the event is focused on inclusivity, accessibility, and bringing people together through performance. I'm Jenny O'Connor.
Rose Trabert is the Director of Interpreting Services at the Deaf Independent Living Association, also known as DILA. But she's also an ASL teacher at Salisbury University. This week, those two worlds are coming together through an ASL concert event featuring Salisbury University students performing music through American Sign Language.
Trabert says the event arrives at a moment when many students are craving more meaningful human connection.
[TRABERT]
"I often say that it's become such a digital age. I think that there has been a huge shift since COVID. And so I think it's been wonderful to see how young people are really opening up to the experiences of being more connected."
[O'CONNOR]
As both an educator and interpreter, Trabert says she's watched students searching for more personal and authentic ways to interact with each other after years of isolation. That desire for connection helped inspire the concert itself.
In her ASL classes, Trabert assigned students to interpret songs into visual performances using sign language. What started as a classroom project quickly became something bigger.
[TRABERT]
"They did so beautifully. Every single one of them. It's so sweet to see how nervous they were, and then they got up there and they just nailed it. I'm like, this is too great to just keep to us."
[O'CONNOR]
After seeing the performances come together, Trabert realized the experience needed to be shared outside the classroom. She partnered with DILA to help create an event that demonstrates what accessibility can look like within live entertainment spaces.
[TRABERT]
"Having access to what is happening around you is so pivotal in just the human experience. Communication is how people express needs, wants, their aspirations. When there is a communication barrier, people suffer from that."
[O'CONNOR]
Trabert says Deaf concerts involve much more than simply translating lyrics word for word. Performers must interpret emotion, rhythm, storytelling, and meaning visually for Deaf audiences.
[TRABERT]
"They are breaking down the meaning. OK, the artist is saying X, Y, Z. What does that mean to you and what did that mean to the artist?"
[O'CONNOR]
The event also includes accessibility considerations that hearing audiences may never think about.
[TRABERT]
"Obviously, it's really important to have lighting to make sure, you know, sometimes when you go to venues and you think about performances, they tend to be dark or they'll have blackout moments. So you think a lot about that."
[O'CONNOR]
Trabert says the concert was also intentionally designed to include members of the DeafBlind community.
[TRABERT]
"So we'll have people that will be able to tactile sign. That's where they will feel in their hands the signing."
[O'CONNOR]
She says the event reflects a larger mission shared by both DILA and Salisbury University — creating spaces where accessibility genuinely reaches everyone.
[TRABERT]
"Deafness is no respecter of person. It doesn't essentially discriminate against any person."
[O'CONNOR]
For those interested in learning ASL themselves, Trabert says DILA offers relaxed community classes throughout the year, giving people direct opportunities to engage with the Deaf community.
The SU ASL concert is open to anyone interested in attending and will take place in Snow Hill at DILA from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. For more information about DILA and their community ASL classes, visit DILA.org.
For Delmarva Public Media, I'm Jenny O'Connor.
