By Charlotte Duffield ’24, staff writer
A student of LVC is holding a sensory-friendly music recital this month to ensure everyone feels welcomed.
Madelyn Rader, a junior music education major, will hold a half recital on Sept. 28, which will be sensory-friendly to ensure everybody feels welcomed and encouraged to come.
Rader is a voice primary and has been involved in music for most of her life. She has been preparing her music since last semester and practices around seven hours a week.
“I feel enthusiastic about highlighting the hard work by all students at LVC,” Rader said.
The idea came to Rader to have her recital be sensory-friendly when she introduced fidgets during her studio class, a class where students perform to their peers and can hear feedback. Her classmates all enjoyed the use of fidgets and found them helpful, so it was then suggested by Professor Walker-Vankuren for Rader to use them during this recital.
Rader herself has ADHD, so she understands the difficulty that many feel. Having ADHD, it is easy to get overstimulated and overwhelmed by sensory factors such as spotlights and people talking.
She will have a fidget on stage as well as a basket of fidgets to encourage the audience to use. She believes that visibility is important and by showing this area of her life in a performance setting gives her the opportunity to educate and bring awareness to neurodivergent people and their success in a musical setting.
“I am excited to share my experience through music to my peers,” Rader said.
She uses accommodations within the classroom and feels that it is important that these accommodations are applied in all academic settings so that other students feel comfortable advocating for themselves. She believes that the more awareness and support shown leads to more confidence by others that are neurodivergent.
Pianist, Jacqueline Wilson, is accompanying Rader as well as the band Token Female. She is singing an array of different musical genres such as musical theatre and Italian arias.
Rader encourages those interested to come along for a great night of music which is inclusive to anybody and everybody.