Blind Music Therapist Helps Those With Disabilities Find Their Voice in Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - For participants in ArtLabbé Academy’s music therapy program, the weekly gathering offers more than a chance to sing.

“It’s special to me because it makes me feel relaxed,” participant Lynnette Fryklund shared.

“Everybody gets together and sings and has a fun time,” participant Matthew Torp added.

Leading the group is Meghan Downing, a music therapist who is legally blind.

Downing was nine years old when she was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a progressive retinal condition that eventually took much of her sight.

“I’ve been blind for about fifteen years,” Downing recalled. “At nine years old it’s hard to process that you’re going to be blind for the rest of your life.”

Music became a way forward.

Downing began playing violin at four and later learned piano, guitar and voice before attending Berklee College of Music.

“It’s really amazing to see how music can kind of transcend words, transcend disability,” Downing shared. “It’s really special to be able to see how music can make someone come alive.”

Her own experience with blindness now shapes the way she works with people who have developmental disabilities.

“I think it allows me to connect with people on a different level,” Downing explained. “Not rely on my eyes, but rely on the music.”

ArtLabbé founder Nathaniel Grotenhuis created the academy around the belief that everyone deserves opportunities to create and connect.

“Everyone has inherent worth, not because of your intellect, not because of your physical body, because you’re a spiritual being,” Grotenhuis shared.

The organization has expanded rapidly. In less than a year, ArtLabbé has grown to more than 140 weekly participants across 12 classrooms and organizations.

A recent art competition also gave participants another opportunity to put their creativity in the spotlight.

“We are hustling right now because we’re trying to offer as many classes as we can because we really believe this is a big mission,” Grotenhuis explained.

For Downing, that mission is closely connected to the challenges she has faced herself.

“Rise above the challenges, acknowledge the challenges, but at the end of the day, don’t let them bring you down.”

For this Santa Barbara group, music is creating a place where everyone can participate, and every voice can be heard.