BLIND MAN'S CHANCE.
SUCCESS AS MUSICIAN. HOW HE GOT A POSITION. This is one of those stories of a man in London who wanted a job badly and how he got it. He was a young violinist. He presented himself at the stage door of a West End theatre one day and said .he had heard that they wanted an orchestra, leader and solo violinist. . " Yes," said the musical director, " that is so. What are your qualifications ?" The young musician explained that he had studied under a well-known master and had achieved some success at concerts on the Continent, and he was very keen on the job and eager to do his best. He was given a chance. He played superbly. One night, some weeks later the musical director went up to the young musician after the show and congratulated' him warmly 011 his work. Then the man who wanted the job admitted that he was quite blind. He had not. told the musical director before because —well, he wanted the jojp. It was later discovered that a friend played over the various pieces to the blind man, and he memorised every note. No one in the theatre, no member of the audience, says the Sunday Chronicle, had suspected the solo violinist's handicap. The young musician is Dr., Ernest Whitfield, who has recently been appointed treasurer of the National Institute for the Blind. Nothing will persuade Dr. Whitfield that there is anything unusual in the way he triumphed over difficulties. " Blind people do not want pity," he says; " all they need is the recognition that in most spheres of life they are quite capable of holding their own."
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19320109.2.139.45
Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21076, 9 January 1932, Page 3 (Supplement)
Word Count
278BLIND MAN'S CHANCE. New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21076, 9 January 1932, Page 3 (Supplement)
Using This Item
NZME is the copyright owner for the New Zealand Herald. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons New Zealand BY-NC-SA licence . This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of NZME. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries and NZME.