Above: Engineering graduate student Eric Wan rehearses on the Virtual Music Instrument (VMI) with members of the Toronto Chamber Orchestra Engineering graduate student Eric Wan used to play the violin, before an infection rendered him unable to use his limbs. Now, thanks to an invention he and engineer Tom Chau developed, Wan can play once again, according to a story on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's cbc.ca Web site. Wan and Chau's creation, the Virtual Music Instrument (VMI), detects even subtle physical movements and translates them into sound. Last November, Wan gave the first public performance on the Virtual Music Instrument when he joined forces with the Montreal Chamber Orchestra in Pachelbel's Canon in D. In the video above, Wan rehearses with musicians of the Toronto Chamber Orchestra. Watch video of their performance here. The Virtual Music Instrument is now commercially available under the name Bloorview Virtual Music Instrument, reflecting the product's genesis at the Bloorview Research Institute of Toronto's Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Read more: Virtual instrument allows disabled musicians to play (CBC)
Jennifer Hambrick unites her extensive backgrounds in the arts and media and her deep roots in Columbus to bring inspiring music to central Ohio as Classical 101’s midday host. Jennifer performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago before earning a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.