Beat the Silence
Experience together: music for all ears
Did you know? Concerts can also be a sensory musical experience for hearing impaired folks. This is what we, through Beat the Silence, want to demonstrate.
Beat the Silence is a rhythmically rich series of concert performances that employs special features to guarantee an unforgettable experience. Sign language, intensified vibrations, an inductive sound system, and lighting effects help hearing impaired folks with implants and hearing aids overcome barriers and experience inclusion. Centering the focus on the differences and similarities of individuals with varied hearing faculties fosters connection and reduces sources of anxiety.
Beat the Silence is striking out on a new path. The name of the organization represents the idea that we should not let acoustic impairments – no matter what form they take – get us down, but rather that we should build bridges of connection in other ways. We celebrate interrelation through beatboxing, percussion, music, and other unprecedented methods – with a (drum)beat to the gut of the status quo.
Beat the Silence performers are, themselves, connected to deafness in a variety of ways: whether they themselves are deaf, whether they have already engaged with the topic at previous events, or whether they have performed at similar events in the past.
The pilot version of Beat the Silence took place in July 2023 during the Vienna Summer of Culture. That event gave a small taste of what the first large-scale concert, which took place on September 29, 2023 in the Vienna Concert Hall, would be like. As we create a vision for the future of music, it is our goal to continue implementing Beat the Silence concerts with a variety of interdisciplinary art forms and widening the range of experiences offered.
We are ever grateful for those who support us via crowdfunding: (See more information)
Anna Blaskó
Artistic Director
Anna Blaskó grew up in Vienna, with Vienna, and around Vienna, breathing music in and out, which is why she prefers musical scores to works of fiction. Alongside her Hungarian roots, she also has a degree in Business Management and Administration and an extensive network of musical, business, and geographic connections. In the wild, you might often find her riding her bicycle, as long as she is not currently on a choir tour (her current sources of mental and musical refreshment include projects with the Neuen Wiener Stimmen, the Wiener Singverein, and the Ensemble Schlüsselklang. As the primary leader of Beat the Silence, Anna not only has the optimal ideas due to her professional experience, but also the inner artistic vision to carry them out.
Mariann Grunenwald
Artistic Director
Mariann Grunenwald grew up in France but has found her home in Vienna. In order to set herself apart in a family with four brothers, she picked up the violin and guitar and learned not only the piano, but also other, non-musical languages. Along with French, German, and English, she also communicates in Catalan, Spanish, and – when required – with hand and foot (ex. In Austrian Sign Language). Outside her own four walls, Mariann enjoys going to concerts or soaking in the relaxation of reading or laying in the sun. With all of this in mind, it is clear to see why she holds the position of Artistic Director with Beat the Silence.
Anna Kostka
PR & Communication
Unsere Anna kommt zufällig aus den Südtiroler Dolomiten, aber absichtlich nach Wien!
Schon mit jungen Jahren hat sie ihr Umfeld mit selbst geschriebenen Gedichten begeistert – und begeistert sieht sie sich selbst heute von dem, was die ganze Welt und die Natur zu bieten haben, beispielsweise einen Rückzugsort, wenn das (durchaus geschätzte!) turbulente Leben in Wien den Turbo zu weit aufdreht.
„Neues entdecken und den eigenen Horizont beständig erweitern“ ist seit jeher ihr Lebensmotto. Sie studiert Kommunikationswissenschaften und Publizistik in Wien und arbeitet aktuell in einer PR-Agentur und ist ebenso stolz wie froh, ihr Können gezielt in der Pressearbeit für Beat the Silence umsetzen zu dürfen.
Das freut uns sehr – denn Anna bringt nicht nur Herz und Verstand mit, sondern auch den festen Willen, mit den Mitteln von Journalismus und PR wichtige Themen sichtbar zu machen, Menschen zu informieren und gesellschaftlichen Wandel anzustoßen.
--> Beat it. --> Beat the silence.
Julian Köppl
Graphic Designer
Julian Köppl ist als gebürtiger Mödlinger nicht nur gut zu Fuß, sondern auch zu seinen Mitmenschen: Er organisiert gerne Veranstaltungen für Jugendliche und bemüht sich dabei um Inklusion und Diversität. Dabei kommt er nicht umhin, zu bemerken, dass die Wiener Kulturszene nach einfachen Möglichkeiten der kulturellen Mitgestaltung lechzt. Waren seine Beine mal wieder wandernd oder joggend unterwegs, machen sich seine Hände in der Küche, am Mischpult oder an neuen Designs zu schaffen. Der strukturierte und lebensfrohe Eleve der Graphischen blickt neben Herausforderungen als Zivildiener im Kindergarten auch einer beispiellosen Laufbahn auf der Angewandten sowie zukunftsweisenden Erfolgen bei “Beat the Silence” entgegen, die sich bereits im Logo der Initiative erkennen lassen.
