A Fergus pianist will be performing at the Accessibility Innovation Showcase later this month as part of the Invictus Games Toronto 2017.
Kara Shaw, 28, has been playing the piano since she was two and a half years old, yet she’s never seen the keys.
She was born at 23 weeks and because of the 100 per cent oxygen needed to keep her alive in the incubator, her vision was lost before she ever had a chance to see.
“They’ve found a way around that now,” said Kara’s mom Lynda Shaw. “Premature babies don’t go blind anymore, but they did when Kara was born.
“We were just happy she was alive.”
Kara was adopted by the Shaw family shortly after birth and when she was two and half a social worker suggested Kara might be able to distinguish the difference between black and white if she had any sight at all.
“I couldn’t keep her attention long enough to figure it out,” Lynda said. “So, I thought (the) piano makes sound, that will keep her attention; so I don’t think she ever saw it but she learned to play it pretty quickly.”
And Kara has vastly improved over the years.
She’s a musical savant, meaning she has genius capabilities in music.
“She hears something, and she plays it,” Lynda said. “She could listen to something once and play the whole thing.”
Kara explained she plays based on the sound. She plays the piano, harp and flute professionally and said she can play any tune she hears on any of the instruments. She can even memorize the lyrics after hearing a song once or twice.
“When I play music I’ll feel like I’m with the artist that I’m playing off of,” Kara said. “Like now I’m into the Bee Gees, for example.
“So when I play their songs on the piano and sing them I feel like I am surrounded by them.”
Lynda said she’s been teaching music for 42 years and has never seen talent like Kara’s.
“We have five kids and we kind of expect them to be musical because both of us are,” she said. “But we adopted Kara and there was no music in her birth family.
“So like where did it come from?”
Kara will be playing at the Accessibility Innovation Showcase in Toronto on the afternoon of Sept. 25.
“This year’s Accessibility Innovation Showcase features 48 interactive exhibits of made-in-Ontario assistive technologies and devices, giving Ontario-based companies and entrepreneurs the chance to highlight accessibility technology advances and increase awareness for this growing sector,” Minister of Research, Innovation and Science Reza Moridi said in an email statement.
“The innovation showcase is also a chance to highlight local performers, and I am pleased to announce Ontario musician Kara Shaw will perform at this event.
“She received excellent reviews at an Accessibility Directorate of Ontario event earlier this year and is a great addition to the lineup of performers for this year’s showcase.”
Kara has already decided on her set list for the two one-hour performance slots she’s been assigned.
“Well it’s basically easy listening,” Kara said. “I don’t think anybody’s going to ask me for heavy metal.”
In June Kara had a few gigs playing for government functions in Toronto and will be performing at the In the Spotlight concert in Gatineau, Quebec on Oct. 19.
The concert, presented by Citizen Advocacy Ottawa, showcases the artistic talents of people with disabilities.
Last year’s guests included Ottawa’s Lucas Haneman Express, savant pianist Jacob Velazquez from Florida, classical violinist Adrian Anantawan from Boston and Montréal’s Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw last year’s program and thought ‘wow they’re classing Kara with these kinds of musicians,’” Lynda said.
Kara isn’t fazed at all by the size of the potential audience.
“I’m not nervous,” she said.
After all, Kara isn’t new to performing.
She is the music director at St. John’s United Church in Belwood, instructing and accompanying the choir every week and putting on two performances a year. Next up is a Christmas cantata.
She performs regularly at 12 different nursing homes in the Fergus area.
She also plays for Elora Community Theater productions. This year she’s playing the music for A Christmas Carol.
