At MSU there is a focus on maximizing the abilities and opportunities of all students. Tyler Mazone is a deaf graduate student who joined MSU to further his music career. We had an opportunity to ask him some questions about his experience at MSU and why he chose us for his education.
Why MSU? What made you choose to pursue your Master's work here?
I chose MSU because of the community that I felt in my admissions interview, and because I had met a current professor at a conference a year before I applied to the school. I had such a good rapport with that professor who told me to go to the MSU booth at the conference to pick up some information about the school and since then MSU had always been on my radar. I ended up receiving funding from the school which is something I'm grateful for!
In what ways has being deaf made your experience with composing different to what a hearing person would experience?
Being deaf has made my experience with music more of a multi-sensory one than a purely auditorial one. I enjoy being able to feel the lower instruments through my body and seeing people move along with the music, and these are just a few of the extra-auditory things I enjoy about the experience of being a musician.
Being a deaf student at MSU what has been most helpful for your learning on Campus, and why?
As a deaf student on the MSU campus, I really love the resource that is the RCPD. I work with an accessibility specialist who knows ASL and frequently works with my two wonderful interpreters, which makes my life so much easier!
What is your favorite music piece?
My favorite piece of music depends on the day!
What is your favorite piece that you have composed?
My favorite piece I've written is called Shut Out and is about the experience of being a disabled person living in society. It's wonderful using my voice to advocate for others in a way that not many can!
