Gregoire to discuss history of FSDB music education as part of Community Lecture Series

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Flagler College Education Professor Michelle Gregoire

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (11/04/2013)(readMedia)-- Flagler College Education Professor Michelle Gregoire will discuss the history of music education programs for blind students at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and their relationship to the Hotel Ponce de Leon at the Nov. 12 Flagler College Community Lecture Series event.

"Historically there has been a fairly strong and notable music education program for blind students at FSDB which was seen as important since the beginning of the school," said Gregoire, who has served as the chair of the Flagler education program since 2004. "Music provided one of the few careers available to people with visual impairments and administrative support was provided in hiring some exemplary music teachers during the formative years of the institution."

Professor Gregoire earned her Ph.D. from The University of Florida with a major in Special Education and a minor in Music. She earned her M.A. in Music from California State University and her B.M. in Music Therapy from Florida State University. In addition to her work in higher education, Dr. Gregoire has served as a clinical music therapist and rehabilitation therapist for students with special needs.

Gregoire's lecture, "Community Intersections: FSDB's Musical Education Programs and the Hotel Ponce de Leon 1891-1916," will also feature selected musical examples performed by pianist Curtis Powell

In honor of the 125th anniversary of the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, the 2013 Community Lecture Series has focused on "The Hotel Ponce de Leon Deconstructed: Building the Future for Modern America."

The series features a lineup of historians and scholars discussing Henry Flagler's vision for St. Augustine, social classes and American politics during the late 19th century, and the influence of art, music and literature during the Gilded Age.

Tickets to the lecture are $5 per person. Active military personnel may attend at no charge. Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception.

This year, thanks to VISIT FLORIDA's Cultural Heritage and Nature Tourism Grant Program, Flagler College is offering complimentary admission to the fall 2013 Flagler College Community Lecture Series for any St. Johns County tourism employee. Tourism employees interested in attending the lecture will need to present their employee name tag or ID at the lecture series registration table.

Reservations for the lecture series are required due to limited space. Call (904) 819-6282 for reservations or more information.

To watch a live stream of these lectures, visit ustream.tv/channel/community-lecture-series.

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Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 29 majors, 34 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly feature Flagler as a college that offers quality education at a relatively low cost. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a grand resort built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, industrialist, railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil. The Ponce has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.