Sylvia's Blind Student: Jessica Raichle
In my May 2026 e-newsletter, my blind student Jessica Raichle wrote a wonderful article about what it is like to play the harp while blind. I received many responses from readers who said they were inspired by the article and Jessica's story. One of the replies was from Carol Ludwig, a harpist in North Carolina, who said:
I forwarded the newsletter to my sister-in-law, Mary Earp, who is a volunteer for the Down East Radio Reading Service (DEERS) in Rocky Mount, NC. DEERS has been serving blind listeners for 25 years. She would like to read the article about the blind harpist on the radio. Is this ok with you?
I checked out the website www.downeastreading.org and found information about this amazing organization.
Down East Radio Reading Service, Inc. (DERRS), which has been on the air since 2003, is an efficient and effective operation currently serving more than 1,000 individual listeners and listening stations 24 hours a day from its studio in the Tarrytown Center in Rocky Mount.
DERRS broadcasts news and information read from local newspapers and other printed material for people in Nash, Edgecombe, and Wilson counties who are blind or print impaired. DERRS partners with the North Carolina Reading Service in Raleigh, which provides 24/7 daily broadcasting.
More than 100 volunteer directors, officers, and readers manage and staff the service, which has no paid employees. Operations are funded through the generosity of individual, civic and corporate patrons. To learn how you might be a part of radio reading in our area, refer to other sections of this web site.
Both Jessica and I got in touch with Mary at the radio station. I suggested that they interview Jessica instead of just reading her article on the show.
On June 18, 2026, Jessica was interviewed and performed live on the air while sitting in her living room in Colorado.
Click here to listen to an MP3 of Jessica's hour-long DERRS radio interview.
And now, here is the article that Jessica wrote for my e-newsletter. Thank you, Jessica!
Jessica Raichle's Story
If you walk into a room and see me, it's likely you won't notice anything different about me. Maybe you won't even think about it until I (or someone else) informs you that I am blind.Many people who consider themselves "totally blind" may actually have some level of light perception, even if it isn't very usable. However, I have none whatsoever. When asked, "What is it like to be blind?", I say, "I guess you can say I see black," but I "see" a lot in my mind's eye.
I was born in 1984, three months premature, weighing 2 pounds, 4 ounces. I was placed in an incubator for the first month and a half. I learned a few years ago that my parents couldn't even touch or hold me during that time. Due to the high level of oxygen, I developed Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). My parents were told I could lose my sight at any time, or it might never get worse at all.
When I was two, I developed acute glaucoma; my premature birth caused scar tissue in my eyes to block the ducts. My dad was in the Air Force, and I needed surgery ASAP. I was flown with my mom and a nurse from Minot, North Dakota, to Texas in a military jet. I lost the sight in my right eye from retinal detachment, and the sight in my left eye was not very good. Without Coke bottle glasses, I couldn't tell if my hand was in front of my face. With my glasses, I could read some print, though I often needed a magnifying glass as well.
At age seven, the retina in my left eye began to detach. Two surgeries were performed within a month, but I completely lost my sight. I was unable to attend grammar school, but my teacher worked with me once or twice a week for about 90 minutes after school. I was mad that summer because I had to go to a special summer school for blind and visually impaired kids to focus on learning braille. But I learned braille pretty quickly and ended up loving it. I don't consider it "another language." It's just another way of writing, but it takes up a LOT more space!!
After I lost my sight at age seven, my first question to my parents after the surgery was, "Do I get a dog now?" Unfortunately, the answer was "no" because most guide dog programs require applicants to be at least 16 or 18 years old. But two weeks after graduating from high school, I received Shelby, a golden retriever guide dog from Leader Dogs for the Blind. I had her for 10 years, and she was an amazing guide. I think she could read my mind. When I was in college, some mornings I'd go to the dining hall for breakfast, and other days I'd go straight to class. It surprised me how often Shelby seemed to know what I wanted to do without me telling her.
One last tidbit before I go into my "music story." Many people comment on how pretty my eyes are. But what they see isn't my actual eyes, but prosthetics. They are not full prosthetics; they are similar to contact lenses, just very thick, and you can't see through them. Two years after I lost my sight, I was approved to have them made because I would have had facial deformities from the atrophy of my eyes after the surgeries.
My Music Story
I've been singing for as long as I can remember. I've participated in some sort of choir since fifth grade.
One day, about six months after losing my sight completely, I came home from school to find a keyboard my great-grandparents had purchased for me, along with the news that I would be taking piano lessons. My lessons only lasted about six months because I got bored. I think I was moving faster than my teacher expected. From then on, I learned by ear whatever grabbed my attention, and my dad taught me how to play "The Rose."
In sixth grade, I started learning how to read braille music. I joined the band and wanted to play the flute, but I was told I had to pick an instrument that was one-handed so I could read the braille music at the same time. I was NOT happy, mainly because the choice was not MINE. I did study flute with the band teacher the following summer, but stopped when school started. Choir was where I really loved to be!
In eighth grade, my dad asked me to write a song. What I came up with was pretty silly, and I don't remember the melody or many of the words. When I was in ninth grade, a young girl played a harp solo in a church service. I also recalled seeing/hearing the harp in a film when I was younger. That Christmas, I wrote my first "real" song about Jesus' birth. The choir teacher helped me with an accompaniment, and later I created one for myself.
In eleventh grade, things weren't going so well at the public school I attended. My only special education class involved meeting with my Visual Impairment Specialist to work on ways to be more independent as a blind person. The previous spring, I had been to a music festival at the Wisconsin School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Janesville, and I LOVED IT!!! I requested to attend that school and began my studies there the day after Easter in April. It was one of the most exciting days of my life. I was there for the last quarter of my junior year and throughout my entire senior year. Students lived on campus during the week and were sent home by chartered buses or planes every weekend. It would have been about a five-hour drive from my home to the school, so I flew both directions in a tiny plane. Unfortunately for me, my stop was the last one going home, and the first going back Sunday night!
Once I learned how to use the Internet on my own, I drove my technology teacher crazy when I decided to research the harp: how to get one, and how to start lessons. I found the harp maker David Kortier, and my parents agreed to take me to his shop in Duluth, since it was the closest option. I rented a small harp from him for six months, carrying it back and forth on the plane to school. I took my first lessons with a local teacher. When I made a trip back to see David and explore my options for a larger harp, he suggested a used one he had in stock and set up a payment plan for me. He also fixed the harp a month later when a crack in the neck split apart. Thank you, Mr. Kortier, for being so kind to a stranger who walked into your shop just "wanting to look."
My first harp teacher was Beth Thompson from the Rice Lake, Wisconsin area, where my family lived. During college and later, I studied with Diane Schneider, Sister Melinda Gerke, and Anne Morse-Hambrock. I now take online lessons from Sylvia Woods. I couldn't have progressed to the degree I have without all of my teachers' help, support, and encouragement.
I earned a BA in music from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI. I composed my first two harp solos while there. My senior recital was a mix of piano, harp, and a short lecture on the Mass with demonstrations of the parts. I accompanied the first half on the piano, and the second on the harp, with the audience singing along. It was an amazing experience! Thank you, Carthage!!
Six months after I finished my degree, I attempted to enter religious life and become a nun. I enjoyed my time in a monastery because life was always predictable. But, due to health issues, I had to leave after about ten months.
Now I sing in my church choir and have the privilege of playing solos and some harp accompaniments. This past Christmas, I composed my first choral piece for harp and flute, and the choir did a great job! I put together a concert for residents at my apartment building a few years ago, and I play background music for some of the get-togethers, mostly at Christmas. I'm always open to new opportunities. During COVID, I was so excited to attend the Sommerset Folk Harp Festival online; it had been a distant dream until then.
When I first started playing the harp, my parents weren't enthusiastic and kept telling me, "They won't have harps everywhere you go for you to use, but they'll have a piano or keyboard." Now they love my playing and often ask me to play for their retirement community.
How do I learn music? Mostly by ear. I do sometimes use braille music, but I've found it is pretty difficult with the harp. I also input braille music into Sibelius and listen to it that way. I've found several apps that allow me to import downloaded MP3s I've purchased and I slow the music down. One thing I dream of is being able to go to any website or store and purchase the music I want in an accessible format without having to pay more or take extra steps to get it there. (For example, I paid around $60 for Sylvia's 40 O'Carolan Tunes book in braille.) Maybe AI will be a huge step forward in that direction!
Let me give you a small illustration of accessibility: Before I went to the school for the blind, I had to order braille and/or recorded books to borrow from the state Braille and Talking Book Library, which is sponsored by the Library of Congress. When I toured the school, I went into the library there and sat on the floor right inside the door, just pulling books off the shelves. I was so excited because I COULD READ THEM ALL!!! It was like being in my own "candy store"!
What are my struggles? Sensory overload and sensitivities can make life very difficult on an almost daily basis. About ten years ago, I learned I cannot eat wheat, so along with sensory difficulties, eating can be a struggle. I can get overwhelmed rather easily. I deal with depression and anxiety. But I don't let these things stop me, unless I realize I'm reaching my limit; then I slow down, take a break, and then go at life again!
What are my dreams? I would love to be more involved in the harp community. I'm not sure how to make that happen, since I DO need help and support. While online events are amazing opportunities, I also find them pretty exhausting and sensorially overwhelming. I dream of attending harp events in person with the right support. I am also looking forward to the chance to try playing the pedal harp, to see how difficult (or not) it may be for me, not because of the blindness, but more because of musculoskeletal conditions. I want to contribute to the world!
Living Independently. In 2011, I attended the Independence Training Program for adults at the Colorado Center for the Blind for 11 months. They teach people how to get around independently with a white cane, use public transportation, develop homemaking skills like cooking and cleaning, use technology, and read and write braille. I live by myself now but have a caregiver who comes several days a week. This assistance is not due to blindness but to other physical and mental health conditions. Her help has truly given me more freedom instead of restricting it. I am able to spend more time focusing on what truly matters to me because I don't have to expend as much energy on day-to-day concerns. Even though I chose to apply for the services, it took me several years to truly be OK with the choice I had made, especially after discovering I wasn't on the physical disability program, but the mental health one. Now I am on the program for the ID/D (Intellectual and Developmental Disability) community. I am humbly proud of myself for learning to go after what I believe will serve me best, not basing my life decisions on what other people may think.
What do I do in my spare time? I love reading. I'm working on learning languages, usually ending up with just enough to get me in trouble. From time to time, I make jewelry or rosaries. I give support to my friends when they need it. I play with my pet dog, Sophie.
I try to stay active in helping others. I am on the Advisory Council for the Denver IDDEAS (Individuals with Developmental Disabilities Equity and Access Solutions) program under the Denver Human Services (DHS) department. The Council helps guide DHS's vision of a connected, supported, safe, and well community for all Denver residents.
How did I find Sylvia? Well, I've been calling her for at least twenty years, asking questions, and seeing if she has ideas for solutions to the difficulties I've faced. Thanks to a grant from the Denver Start Program, I've been taking lessons from her for the past year and have really enjoyed them. She is such a great cheerleader, and I always feel so encouraged at each lesson. I am so much more confident now about not giving up on my dreams but going after them!
I am grateful that Sylvia asked me to write this article. I truly pray it will help and inspire others. Thank you, Sylvia, for the opportunity!
-- Jessica Raichle