Initially consisting of four friends who got together for a few hours each holiday season to sing Christmas carols and to socialize, the group has grown to twelve members. Most are blind or visually impaired and listen to Radio Information Service. At the instigation of a dedicated volunteer who is always seeking ideas to promote RIS, the friends agreed to share some of their favorite carols on air with other RIS listeners and, in addition, to create a CD. Thus, the Brailletones were born!
Members of the Brailletones include Liz DePiero, Samuel DePiero, Joyce Driben, Tony Evancic, Philagonas Evancic, Philip Horrell, Jo Ann Iannuzzo, Marita Mathews, Vicky Vaughan, Joseph Wassermann, Kathryn Wassermann
The CD was recorded by the sound recording class of Carnegie Mellon School of Music and directed by Riccardo Schultz. Carols included on the CD are:
Dona Nobis Pacem
Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came
The Song of the Angels
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Shepherds Shake off Your Drowsy Sleep
Angels From the Realms of Glory
Bring A Torch, Jeannette Isabella
Good Christian Men Rejoice
Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning.
The Brailletones Traditional Holiday Carols CD costs $10.00. Proceeds from the sale of the CD will go toward supporting the Radio Information Service mission of promoting Independence Through Information for its listeners.
To order by phone, call 412-488-3944. MasterCard and Visa are accepted. To order by mail, send a check made payable to:
Radio Information Service
600 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15282
Please add $2.00 per CD to cover shipping costs.