A Noteworthy Effort

Through the charity Mighty Special Music Makers, adults whose physical or mental handicaps make it impossible for them to read music are learning how to memorize scores, note by note.

The Maryland charity recruits musically talented volunteers — referred to as “band aides” — to hold weekly rehearsals at which they teach mentally and physically impaired people to play numerous types of percussion instruments, including Chinese gongs, African gourds, and South American rainsticks. Then four times a year, the volunteers and the charity’s clients hold public concerts, performing a wide repertoire of music ranging from Bach to Basie.

“It closes the circle of who can make music,” says Paula Silvert Moore, who created Mighty Special Music Makers in 1992. “This way, not only do they get to learn how to play, they get to perform it in public.”

The charity runs on a $75,500 annual budget, half of which is raised from a yearly gala concert. That money enables 60 people to play in four bands, but Ms. Moore hopes to increase the charity’s budget to $150,000 so that more people can be served.

Ms. Moore says that parents of the charity’s middle-aged clients often approach her after performances to say they have never before seen their children “do anything with dignity in front of people.” Ms. Moore, whose 24-year-old son has Down syndrome, says such remarks can make her cry because she can’t believe it has taken them so long to find a meaningful activity.