The saxophonist who overcame blindness

Blind since he was 18, alto saxophonist Gerardo Kessler, soloist of the Symphonic Band of the Blind, who will perform on Wednesday the 18th, at the CCKmanaged to get ahead through music

Gerardo Kessler became blind at the age of 18. Although at that time the guitar was that cable to the ground, his vocation was already on track.

On Wednesday, at 8 p.m., at the CCK National Auditorium, the Pascual Grisolía Symphonic Band of the Blind, directed by Agustín Tocalini, who turned 76 on Sunday, October 15, will celebrate its anniversary with a repertoire that includes Fog and cementby Mario Herrerías, in which Kessler will be the soloist, and two compositions by Vincent Persichetti, Symphony for band y Psalm for band.

The symphonic band rehearsal ends in a setting of relaxed camaraderie. The rehearsals, three times a week, give this group a fluid sound, balanced and with an elaborate richness in nuances.

Kessler will be soloist in Fog and cementa composition for flute and symphonic band that was recorded, among others, by the Cuban saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera. “This work was written for the flutist Jorge de la Vega, but it took off on its own and saxophonists began to play it, many in duet with piano,” he explained during the talk with Clarionthe artist.

After pointing out that the work is truly demanding, he emphasized the beauty of this composition and his desire to interpret it; He also said that they will make an arrangement for alto sax and band that was already played by the La Pampa symphonic band.

“I feel comfortable playing this piece, the arrangement works very well, although I was a little scared of the sound, since sometimes when I am standing in front of the band I felt like it could overwhelm me, but I enjoy it and the nerves are inevitable,” he admitted. he saxophonist.

-How was your approach to music?

-Until I went blind, at 18, I didn’t take music very seriously. In high school I started playing the guitar which became a real grounding cable when I lost my sight. Shortly after, I learned about the existence of the National Symphonic Band of the Blind and began to prepare to be part of the band. That would be my future, I seriously studied music, Braille musicography and I started playing the trumpet.

I have a disease, Marfan Syndrome, which causes certain issues such as the dilation of blood vessels and a certain weakness in the retinas that not all cases have, but mine does. At the age of twelve, I had a detached retina and lost an eye, and at 18, since I already had experience, I went ahead and had surgery. I was able to see for a while, a year or so, until a stroke left me blind.

-Did you start with the trumpet, but your heart was in the sax?

-I started with the trumpet because the band had the saxophone row busy and there was the possibility of competing with the trumpet, although in reality I always liked the saxophone; Anyway, at that time there was no chance of me joining in with the sax. Within the possibilities I liked the trumpet and I studied with the band director, Edgardo Manfredi, until I joined in 2006. Afterwards I took classes with several teachers privately, but I remember, especially, Gabriel Archilla.

A new consequence of his illness ended up keeping him away from the trumpet. “I joined the band under contract in 2006 and competed for trumpet in 2009. In 2012, as a result of my disease, which affects the blood vessels, we generally have to undergo complex surgery at the base of the aorta because it dilates and there is We have to operate to put in a prosthesis, otherwise we run the risk of death. The trumpet could compromise my health; They gave me tests and advised me that it would be advisable for me to change instruments; Anyway, there was no immediate risk, but it affected me in some way and even more so over time.

Kessler then switched to double bass. “Yes, I changed instruments. I switched to double bass, my height helped me and I started studying it. When I was going to enter the competition, the saxophone opportunity arose. “I had bought a saxophone long before because I liked it and although I did not study it with all the necessary seriousness, I played with rock bands,” he added.

When he had the opportunity to join the band with the sax he started taking classes with Jorge Retamoza.

-Why the alto sax?

-I chose the alto because within a symphonic band it has the most beautiful parts. Since in many cases it replaces the strings, it is the leading voice of the row of saxophones and I like the coloratura, it is comfortable to play.

-Jazz musicians stand out in the history of the sax. Do you listen to jazz?

-I have a varied musical taste, I listen to jazz, but I really like Argentine popular music, tango, folklore. For example, both Retamoza and Fernando Lerman make Argentine music on the sax. Within jazz I listen to John Coltrane, Stan Getz and Sonny Rollins, all tenors.

Beyond his varied tastes, Kessler has all his energy put into the symphonic band, but he wants to start doing some personal projects. “I was studying harmony, and before the pandemic we were doing some funk, rock, a little jazz with classmates.”

-Are you interested in composition?

-I wrote for a play for children in the so-called Theater in the Dark, for the blind. The director proposed that I write the music and I accepted, but I wanted to orient it towards urban music that I didn’t know, that is, trap, reggaeton. I had to start investigating and not close down. The music I composed has the rhythms of urban music with other harmonic condiments and other styles. I don’t know if urban music fans will feel reflected (smiles).

And he continues: “Composition is undoubtedly a space of great freedom, but I would need to prepare and learn more harmony; I really like jazz as a tool to orient myself towards other musical worlds. “I would like to compose with more training and know well what I am doing.”

Kessler, in addition to his participation in the symphonic band for the blind, has two activities to which he dedicates part of his time. One of them has to do with music and is digital audio, mixing, recording and editing.

“A few years ago I started using software that allows me to accessibly edit audio, then I started using multitrack software. In fact, the nicest thing that happened to me with that was that during the pandemic, when we couldn’t rehearse, we worked on projects in which everyone from home recorded their parts from their phone and I edited them at home.”

Among these projects, the premiere of a work performed by artists from several countries accompanied by the symphonic band stands out.

“We committed the madness of premiering a work, The hummingbird, by Gerardo Di Giusto, an Argentine composer living in France, in which choristers from France, Thailand, Singapore, Spain and Russia participated with the orchestral backing of the Symphonic Band of the Blind. The editing was a huge job, because there were more than a hundred tracks and all recorded from cell phones. It turned out well and we released it via streaming, then when the pandemic ended we played it in Buenos Aires.”

His other project is programming, which was also born in times of the pandemic. “I really like everything that has to do with computing and like every person with visual disabilities I encounter a number of barriers. He becomes aware little by little; Some large companies began to make their equipment accessible from development and not to make subsequent patches. Today, some companies that, since the project was created, both software and hardware, take into account people with visual disabilities and make it accessible and that it can be used without help, without assistance.

Within that search and the frustration of not being able to use certain things, I began to study how to break those barriers with a script (collaborator). I started with multitrack and MIDI software, that is, virtual instruments. The interfaces of the virtual instruments are not accessible with screen readers which is what blind people use to interact and so I developed scripts for them to click on some parts of the screen.

“At that time I was making video calls with my mother and I created a script that oriented the mouse to where I had to click, saved the coordinates and then with a keyboard shortcut I accessed that software by clicking on that specific coordinate. That was my start. Then I started doing web development, I have a page where I capture everything I learned and share it. It is very important for me to be able to share what I am discovering and what works.

October 15 was International White Cane Day, an anniversary used to visualize the reality of blind or low vision people. On this date, the reflection of Cristian Alderete, trombonist of the symphonic band, proposes a change in the way blindness is perceived.

“Account from the social paradigm of disability, that the greatest disabling factors are the environments and not the disability itself and that is why it is essential to rethink how we build that environment each from our place, getting involved in the instances where it is necessary to raise barriers to build a more inclusive society,” he says.

“There are canes of different colors that indicate different issues. The most used are white, an indicator that the person is totally blind, and green, used by people with low vision. I think it is important to stop seeing the cane as an emblem of disability and come to see it as an emblem of the possibility of walking and thus overcoming what at first seemed like adversity.

The Pascual Grisolía Symphonic Band of the Blind will perform on Wednesday, October 18, at 8 p.m., at the CCK National Auditorium, Sarmiento 151. Admission is free.