Antony Kearns, director of the music publishers Stainer & Bell, woke up one morning in January 2015, paralysed down one side of his face. He was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy, a condition that causes temporary weakness of the facial muscles. His first concern: could he still play the trumpet?
Early attempts were total failures. Over the past three months Antony has charted his progress on video.
He writes: ‘Worried I wouldn’t be able to play the trumpet again, and unable to find any trumpeter-specific stories among all the great ‘recovery diaries’ on YouTube, I set out to make the kind of video I would have found helpful when I was diagnosed. I’m publishing this as encouragement to fellow brass or woodwind players currently suffering with Bell’s Palsy and to show that it is possible to play again.’
He launched the video on Youtube today. Watch a brave, stubborn man get his sound back.