Lee Minton Signature Series: Mary Mikels

Description

Pawleys Island Festival of Music and Art hosts the Lee Minton Signature Series, featuring Jazz Reach.   Mary Mikels’ story is one of incredible resilience and determination. Her ability to overcome significant challenges in pursuit of her passion for music is truly inspiring. Mary’s unique circumstances make her message of overcoming obstacles through music even more powerful and impactful. She serves as a beacon of hope and strength for others facing their own obstacles, showing them that anything is possible with dedication and perseverance. Mary Mikels’ journey is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the transformative power of music. She continues to touch the hearts of those around her with her unwavering determination and uplifting performances.

Mary was born totally blind with a hearing loss in her left ear, and has been told she was also born with perfect pitch. She’s a motivational singer blending classical music and Broadway favorites with a touch of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Opera, Patriotic & Christian music. Between songs, she enjoys speaking to the audience and occasionally doing impersonations. She was delighted to be selected by American Idol in the first round, and as a finalist in the Blind Idol. She was honored to sing with The Tenors at Christmastime and also honored to be selected for the North Carolina Master Chorale, the official chorale of the North Carolina Symphony. Mary also plays piano and a little violin. Growing up, when other kids were running around outside or riding bikes, she was in her room happily singing, mixing harmony with her voice with handheld recorders, and doing impersonations of anyone who had left a message on the family’s answering machine from the dentist’s receptionist to family friends. She grew up the youngest of four children in Raleigh, North Carolina (she loves fried chicken and sweet tea!) and has been singing since she first heard Christmas Carols when she was two years old. 

Mary says that singing is her passion for the joy it brings people for the few minutes she has with them. She knows this is true, because they have told her this after she sings. Mary may have been born blind, but she knows she was born to sing.
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Mary Mikels will provide a music-related, educational outreach program for all the middle & High school students enrolled in Special Ed in the Georgetown County School District. PIFMA directly serves (GCSD) by bringing the beauty & joy of the arts to the county school’s students at no charge. Regardless of a person’s socioeconomic status or learning differences, every child deserves the opportunity to experience music and the arts. PIFMA will address the need for local school-aged children to have more exposure to the arts and live performances, which encourages positive youth development. Mary’s unique circumstances make her message of overcoming obstacles through music even more powerful and impactful. “Some of the benefits of music education for students with learning differences include: the ability to succeed in a safe haven; compensatory skill development; a class to express themselves in an alternative way; a place to make lasting friendships; academic learning embedded in music, songs, and chants; learning musical cues and prompts; music activities used as reinforcement for completing work; and music activities used to structure socialization and introduce social skills.” (spark.bethel.edu)

PIFMA secured a grant from the Bunnelle Foundation to assist with funding for this exciting experience.