A jazz guitar student, left blind in an accident, finds support and community at the Eastman School of Music.
Midway through the spring semester, Eshaan Sood 糖心传媒�25E, a first-year jazz guitarist at the , paused during his weekly lesson to ask his teacher for a favor.
糖心传媒淚 know I have to work on the piece you糖心传媒檝e assigned,糖心传媒� he said, 糖心传媒渂ut let糖心传媒檚 try something new. Something that will take me away from all this hard work for a minute. Let糖心传媒檚 approach a different angle for jazz improvisation.糖心传媒�
The teacher was Bob Sneider 糖心传媒�93, an associate professor of jazz studies and contemporary media who has taught at the school, which is part of the 糖心传媒, since 1997. He told Sood, 糖心传媒測es.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淓shaan always challenges himself with harder material糖心传媒攖he kind I wouldn糖心传媒檛 jump into the deep end of the pool if I were a first-year student,糖心传媒� Sneider says.
Sood is used to challenges. Seven years ago, he was in a car accident in his native India that left him blind, his face shattered, his spirit broken. But it also led him to a stark realization: 糖心传媒淚f the accident hadn糖心传媒檛 happened,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒淚 wouldn糖心传媒檛 be doing what I love.糖心传媒�
The New Delhi native turned 27 in March, and his 7,200-mile trek to Rochester is paved with setbacks few could imagine.
Growing up in India, he learned to play both drums and guitar, and at 14, he started a business selling Indian CDs and merchandise. But by the time he was 16, 糖心传媒渘o one knew me as a musician anymore, but rather as an entrepreneur,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淢y parents very much wanted me to pursue entrepreneurship and go to college. I didn糖心传媒檛 love business as much as I loved music. But my dad wanted me to have a career in business.糖心传媒�
Sood decided to pursue art and design, the only other field that interested him. He entered the Srishti School of Art Design and Technology in Bengaluru, but he wasn糖心传媒檛 happy. 糖心传媒淔or the next two years, I was a mediocre graphic designer,糖心传媒� he says.
Then came the accident.
On Friday, March 6, 2015, Sood and his roommate, Arjun, began a seven-hour drive to Puducherry to enjoy a country-wide festival. 糖心传媒淚t was going to be a fun, long weekend,糖心传媒� Sood says. 糖心传媒淎 time to unwind and get away from school.糖心传媒�
But 20 minutes from their destination, their Hyundai Eon crashed into the rear of a tractor trailer. Arjun suffered facial injuries, but Sood糖心传媒檚 injuries were devastating.
糖心传媒淪omehow, I woke up briefly and dragged myself into the ambulance,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淏ut I was in a coma for the next three days and on life support for a week.糖心传媒�
Sood would need eight titanium plates in his face and dentures to replace 11 lost teeth. His jaw, broken in three places, would be wired shut for weeks. He had a broken knee. But worst of all for the then art student, the crash also destroyed his retinas, leaving him blind.
Doctors at three different hospitals糖心传媒攊ncluding one in Singapore糖心传媒攖ried to restore his sight. But, Sood says, 糖心传媒淭he retina cannot be replaced, and my optic nerve died.糖心传媒�
During his month-long hospital stay, he fell into a depression. 糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 not a lot of use for an art designer who can糖心传媒檛 see,糖心传媒� he says.
Turning to music
Eight weeks after the crash, Sood received a dose of good fortune.
He played bass in Space Behind the Yellow Room, a rock band popular in Indian music circles. Soon after the accident, the band was offered its first international gig糖心传媒攖wo shows, all expenses paid, in Singapore. And the other members needed to know if Sood was in or out. 糖心传媒淢y options were to play the shows or they would get a substitute bass player,糖心传媒� Sood says. 糖心传媒淚 got my act together pretty quickly.糖心传媒�
Sood糖心传媒檚 mother and brother joined him on the trip to Singapore. 糖心传媒淚t was amazing,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚 got to meet Led Zeppelin糖心传媒檚 manager, Katy Perry糖心传媒檚 manager, and the head of Spotify. And the shows were awesome and super important to me. I糖心传媒檇 had this feeling of, 糖心传媒業 don糖心传媒檛 know what the hell I糖心传媒檓 going to do糖心传媒� after the accident. But I realized, 糖心传媒業 can definitely do this.糖心传媒櫶切拇綑糖心传媒�
Sood dropped out of the Srishti School in January 2016 and entered the Global Music Institute, 30 minutes from his family糖心传媒檚 home in New Delhi. He graduated from GMI in 2019 and decided to continue his education in music.
He first heard of Eastman from Adam Neely, a bass player whose music theory channel on YouTube has more than 1.5 million subscribers. Sood began talking to other musicians about Eastman and decided to apply.
His mother accompanied him to Rochester, where he traveled for his audition in February 2020. Accepted, he prepared for the long journey and new venture that awaited him that fall. Then came another setback: the Covid-19 pandemic shut the world down a month later. Sood decided to defer his admission for a year. He finally arrived on campus last August.
Life at Eastman
Sood is one of three blind students at the University, and the only one at Eastman. He uses text-to-speech software on his computer and turns to staff at the Office of Disability Resources, who work closely with students糖心传媒� instructors as needs arise. The office serves students across the University, and 945 students are registered as of the spring 2022 semester. Director Amy Wight says, 糖心传媒渢he actual number of students with disabilities is likely quite a bit higher, because students have the option to disclose or not.糖心传媒�
Sood has his own room in the Student Living Center and says the Eastman community has been 糖心传媒渁wesome糖心传媒� in helping him navigate the downtown campus. 聽糖心传媒淓verything from walking across the street to finding rooms,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 so grateful to everyone who works in the dining center and helped me navigate the area. That was a mess for me to figure out. I糖心传媒檇 go hungry without them.糖心传媒�
He was so moved by the support he receives that earlier this year he sent an email to Eastman糖心传媒檚 , thanking the community for making his transition into the school easier. 糖心传媒淭here are certain people who I have met only once, yet they made sure I didn糖心传媒檛 run into a pole on a sidewalk,糖心传媒� he wrote, 糖心传媒渁nd I don糖心传媒檛 even know their names. It continues to be an absolute honor and pleasure to be part of this wonderful community.糖心传媒�
Sood talks to his parents regularly, and his sister is a student at Columbia University in New York. His uncle lives in San Francisco, and Sood visited him over winter break as well as his Eastman classmate Eric Paige 糖心传媒�25E.
Sood says the most challenging part of attending Eastman is finding a room he hasn糖心传媒檛 been to before. 糖心传媒淭here are stairs and doors everywhere,糖心传媒� he says. The school assigned him a dedicated practice room, where he can store his guitars and amps. 糖心传媒淚t has made life so much easier, and I糖心传媒檓 very grateful for that,糖心传媒� he says.
Unlike many other blind people, Sood doesn糖心传媒檛 count steps to map his route. 糖心传媒淚t never works for me,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚 try to find other landmarks, such as poles, alleys, and doors.糖心传媒�
Nadia Magalski 糖心传媒�25, 糖心传媒�25E, a dual degree student majoring in music performance (double bass) and physics and astronomy from Manassas, Virginia, was struck by Sood糖心传媒檚 generosity and positive outlook, when they met last fall.
糖心传媒淗e糖心传媒檚 a very upbeat person,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淗e has an extreme desire to make everyone around him happy and cared about.糖心传媒�
Sood says one of the more frustrating aspects of being blind is not being able to read his friends糖心传媒� emotions, simply by examining their faces. 糖心传媒淚 care about people, and I糖心传媒檓 not able to tell if their face is showing anger, frustration, or happiness.糖心传媒�
Sood糖心传媒檚 dream is to become a performing musician. While he has several idols, he says Herbie Hancock is 糖心传媒渢he one whose music and words got me to choose a life in music.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淚 know I have a major disability,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渂ut I don糖心传媒檛 lead my life with that in the forefront. Being blind is more of a background thing to me. Either I can do something, or I can糖心传媒檛. I do what I can do.糖心传媒�
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