Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

With Sight and Hearing Gone, Alumna Pianist Remains Committed to Music

23/12/2020

In 1994, just before Cydnie Breazeale '18 began studying at Berklee, she could, with the help of powerful hearing aids, make out the notes she was playing on her piano. But two months before her first day of classes, her hearing suddenly and completely disappeared.

It was the second sense to leave her. When she was a small child, what little vision she was born with went dark. She remembers that her favorite color was pink.

Breazeale used steroids to regain some of her hearing, but much of it was gone for good. Still, she was determined to keep music in her life, and, at 19, went ahead and started Berklee. She took up to three classes a semester with the help of an assistant, spending hours preparing for each lesson by memorizing Braille lead sheets and practicing playing.

She kept at it for three years, then another blow came: the remnants of her hearing vanished, this time permanently. She had no choice but to withdraw from Berklee.

As Breazeale and her mother, T.C. Breazeale, recounted this history earlier this month, they were seated next to an upright piano, the one Cydnie would play at her holiday concert on December 15 for her friends and colleagues at MAB Community Services (formerly Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired). In attendance, over Zoom, for the show was a Berklee professor and a Berklee alumnus who have worked with Cydnie over the years to make sure that music doesn't recede from her life.

It's just so important for her to play, because its who she is. And without music, life would be very, very empty for her, said Suzanna Sifter, the piano professor (and Berklee alumna) who has worked with Breazeale on a weekly basis for 20 years, beginning just before Breazeale returned to Berklee.

People see somebody who has disabilities, and they discount them.... Theres a living, breathing, loving, caring, musical human being inside that woman.

-Professor Suzanna Sifter

At 23, Breazeale had received a cochlear implant and started the process of learning to hear with it. The devices do not render sound the way the ear does. They are made to decipher speech, not to listen to music. It was a long time before a piano sounded like a piano, T.C. Breazeale said. A while after she received the implant, Cydnie returned to Berklee and, over the course of 17 years, earned a two-year certificate. The work over those years was so demanding that the Breazeales moved from Watertown to Boston to be closer to Berklee.

Throughout that time she was studying with Sifter privately, and for many years with Mark McNeill B.M. '08. These weekly sessions with Sifter and McNeill make life for Breazeale not just bearable...but rich. A life worth living, her mother said. While many Berklee graduates aim for big success, she said, there are other reasons to study music, including the endeavor to add meaning to one's life, and the experience of working toward a goal that at first might seem unattainable: One of the things that she definitely learned is that she can do difficult things and master them. Another reason is, simply, to stir joy. I feel happy when I play the piano, Cydnie Breazeale said.

Watch a clip from Cydnie Breazeales dress rehearsal for the MAB Community Services concert:

Its how she connects to the world, Sifter said, adding that her own life has been enhanced by her connection to Cydnie Breazeale. Not only has she found a good friend, but she's learned from her student.

People see somebody who has multiple disabilities, and they discount them-they are discounted in society, and its BS. Theres a living, breathing, loving, caring, musical human being inside that woman. And if I see somebody else that has a disability, Im aware of that now, Sifter said.

Her work with Breazeale has also changed her as an educator. She's learned to always leave room for her students to surprise her with their abilities. You really dont want to shut the door on somebody...you never want to give somebody the vibe that they cant do something, she said.

Even after 20 years, Breazeale continues to amaze her. Up until the pandemic started, Sifter had been teaching Breazeale using the hand over hand method; Breazeale would place her hands over Sifters while Sifter played. But when coronavirus forced the lessons to end, Sifter wasn't sure that they could switch to remote learning and follow instruction without the tactile help. But apparently, if I say [D] flat, shes just as good, Sifter said, adding that Breazeale has a strong sense of rhythm and a well-developed knowledge of musical concepts such as chord scales and upper-structure triads. There are many ways I can describe that I want her to do something, she said.

It's this reservoir of skills that Breazeale calls upon to play music, especially since she can't match pitch. If I play a note on the instrument she can't find it; if I sing a note she cant sing it. So its remarkable that she can remember these things. And she doesn't forget them, Sifter said. T.C. Breazeale estimates that her daughter has about 200 songs in her repertoire.

She reads Braille music primarily with her left hand but can read with both. She switches from one to the other when learning a piece so that one hand is going over the Braille while the other plays the notes.

Reconnecting with a Mentor The success of Breazeale's Zoom lessons with Sifter encouraged her to ask McNeill, the alumnus, to start tutoring her remotely. He had helped her with piano beginning in 2007, but their work together had to come to an end when he moved in 2014 to Berlin, Germany, where he's a pianist for Komische Oper Berlin.

McNeill's initial role involved accompanying Breazeale to class, guiding her through buildings, and aiding her during lessons. I would sit on her right side and
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/news/berklee-now/cydnie-breazeale?ss=213221...
See more stories from berklee

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

15/04/2026

Panasonic, NEP Partner on IP-Based Live Production

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Encompass Digital Media Powers Global Cloud Transformatio...

Interra Systems, a provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions for the digital media industry, is proud to announce its central role in the digital trans...

15/04/2026

Viaccess-Orca Powers MasOranges Multi-Brand TV Expansion...

VO Integrates Client-Side and Server-Side Ad Technologies with its Secure Video Player and Segmentation Tools, Leveraging Broadpeak's SSAI and BPK SmartLib ...

15/04/2026

TMT Insights Unveils AI at NAB 2026

TMT Insights, a leader in professional services and software development for the media and entertainment (M&E) industry, today announced the launch of TMT AI at...

15/04/2026

Encompass Digital Media and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure E...

Encompass Digital Media, a global leader in managed broadcast and cloud-based media services, today announced an expanded partnership with Oracle Cloud Infrastr...

15/04/2026

Middleman Software Debuts PhaseLock Technology and Expand...

Middleman Software, a leading provider of signaling and synchronization solutions for broadcast and streaming workflows, today announced it will unveil PhaseLoc...

15/04/2026

Deity Announces PR-4 Compact Field Recorder

Deity Microphones today announced the PR-4, a compact six-track field recorder featuring four inputs, 32-bit float recording, advanced routing, and a workflow-f...

15/04/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces Fairlight Live

Blackmagic Design Announces Fairlight Live Brie Clayton April 15, 2026 0 Comments Powerful software-based live audio mixer with support for SMPTE-2110...

15/04/2026

Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Transmitters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

JB&A Spotlights Exhibitors Ahead of Pre-NAB 2026 Technology Event

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Wave Central, EVS Announce SMPTE ST 2110 Interop Collaboration

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Top Reason for Subscribing to Pay TV Is Live News and TV, Survey Finds

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

NAB Leadership Foundation Honors Outstanding Broadcasters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Wisycom Expands MPR60 With New Multichannel IFB Mode

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires Premium Manufacturer ARRI

Strategic Alignment With the Riedel Group for Innovation and Growth Thomas Riedel, founder and owner of Riedel Communications and the Riedel Group, has acqui...

15/04/2026

Iyuno Deploys SDVI Rally Platform to Accelerate and Scale...

SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that the company's Rally platform has been deployed by Iyuno Media...

15/04/2026

Frequency Leads the Industry in Live Local News on FAST

Frequency, the engine behind many of the worlds leading streaming television channels, has become the platform of choice for leading U.S. broadcasters bringing ...

15/04/2026

Harmonic Introduces Breakthrough AI Orchestration Service...

New Service Simplifies Integration of AI Applications with Exceptional Reliability and Security SAN JOSE, Calif. April 14, 2026 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) t...

15/04/2026

VIDI and Media Links Bring Scalable IP Transport to Germa...

During the 2025 off-season, VIDI completed a major upgrade of the broadcast infrastructure across all 36 stadiums in Germany's 1st and 2nd Bundesliga. The p...

15/04/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Transformational Arcadia and Eclipse...

Clear-Com announced significant updates to its award-winning Arcadia Central Station as well as enhancements to the Eclipse HX Digital Matrix System now runn...

15/04/2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB SHOW 2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB SHOW 2026 Brie Clayton April 15, 2026 0 Comments New system removes PTZ pan restric...

15/04/2026

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB Show, Adding Direct File Workflow Integration

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB Show, Adding Direct File...

15/04/2026

This 24-Hour Performance Art Piece Needs Your Participation

This 24-Hour Performance Art Piece Needs Your Participation Keefer Glenshaws latest project is about collaborating with the Berklee community and beyond. Apr...

15/04/2026

RT announces new crime drama The Yank starring Kate Mulgrew and Colm Meaney

Two Cities Television and Keeper Pictures to produce six-part series in association with Screen Ireland for RT and ITV Studios RT has commissioned Two Citie...

15/04/2026

RT unveils The Signal' a specially commissioned 60-second film to celebrate RT100

RT 100 RT unveils The Signal' a specially commissioned 60-second film ...

15/04/2026

New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs

The NAB Show 2026 trade show, running April 18-22 in Las Vegas, is set to showcase a wave of new features and optimizations for top video editing applications. ...

14/04/2026

ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 Playout and Live News Workflows

ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 P...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Mobile Video Transmitter

Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026. ...

14/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Stripe TVs Matthew Pavey on Making Live-Production Tech More Portable, Intuitive, and Accessible

Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...

14/04/2026

Studio Berlin Adds LDX 135 and LDX 180 Camera Systems from Grass Valley

Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano and Edward Cox to Vice President Roles

LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...

14/04/2026

Agor and Sennheiser to Deploy Largest Spectera System to Date at Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Sennheiser and Italian rental company Agor have begun preparations for their Eu...

14/04/2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet Announce Prediction Market Partnership Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet have announced a partnership to integrate ADI Predict...

14/04/2026

Deltatre Completes Digital Platform for Serie A as Part of Four-Season Partnership

Deltatre has announced the completion of a direct-to-fan website and app for Leg...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Daktronics to Exhibit with Grass Valley

Daktronics, will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in partnership with Grass Valley at Booth C2408, Las Vegas Convention Center, April 19-22. Daktronics will showcase a...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Backblaze to Host Partner Showcases

Backblaze will host a series of partner presentations at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1259, North Hall), open to all exhibition hall badge holders. Showcase partners i...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: BRAHMA AI to Exhibit Enterprise AI Content Platform

BRAHMA AI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2415, West Hall), demonstrating its Enterprise AI Content Platform for media, entertainment, sports, and technol...

14/04/2026

Bridge Technologies VB440 Integrated into NEP Platform

Bridge Technologies has announced that its VB440 production probe has been integrated into NEP Platform, NEP Group's software orchestration system. The inte...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com to Demonstrate Expanded Intercom Ecosystem

Clear-Com will introduce new products and demonstrate its communications ecosystem for broadcast and live production at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5807, April 19-22)...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: EZDRM to Introduce Revenue Security Prism Framework

EZDRM will use NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2260) to introduce the Revenue Security Prism, a framework for combining multiple security technologies to protect streamin...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telos Alliance Product Preview

Telos Alliance will introduce the following products at NAB Show 2026: TV and Media Telos Infinity MK2 Panels: A new generation of hardware control panels for...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Panasonic to Showcase IP and IT Production Solutions

Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3509), demonstrating IP- and IT-based production solutions for sports, bro...

14/04/2026

Behind the Mic: WNBA Adds Sue Bird, Sophie Cunningham to Networks Commentary Teams; John Buccigross Signed to ESPN Extension

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces Multiple New Products

Blackmagic Design will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2502). CEO Grant Petty s product announcement livestream is available at youtube.com. The company announ...