Panel on Blindness and Arts Access to Precede THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA Concert

The Music Hall will present Beyond What We See: Blindness, Accessibility, and the Arts, a pre-concert panel discussion, on Sunday, October 25, at 3 p.m. at its Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street in Portsmouth.

Moderated by The Music Hall's President & CEO, Markus Gottschlich, the conversation precedes The Blind Boys of Alabama present Songs in the Key of Life at 4 p.m. and is open to all concert ticket holders.

Bringing together perspectives from music, vision rehabilitation, community advocacy, and local government, the panel will explore the realities of living with blindness or low vision in America – and the barriers that often remain invisible to sighted people. Topics will include navigating public spaces, accessing education and employment, and experiencing and participating in the arts.

Panelists include Nathalie Fortier, CFOO & Interim CEO at Future in Sight; Beth Daisy, Adult Vision Rehabilitation Manager at Future in Sight; Freddy Petrone, Executive Director at I Got Bridged; Monte Bohanan, Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the City of Portsmouth; and Ricky McKinnie, leader and spokesman for The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Founded in 1939 in the segregated South, The Blind Boys of Alabama have lived through the Civil Rights Movement and decades of progress in disability rights. Their history provides a starting point for a conversation about both the opportunities created by that progress and the challenges that persist today.

Drawing on lived experience, history, and the power of music, the discussion will consider what accessibility means beyond physical accommodations, how assumptions about blindness can limit opportunity, and how cultural institutions can support full participation – not only as audience members, but as artists, creators, and leaders.

Following the panel, The Blind Boys of Alabama will take the stage for a performance celebrating the 50th anniversary of Stevie Wonder's landmark album Songs in the Key of Life. The program pairs Wonder's songs with selections from the group's own repertoire, bringing together gospel, soul, and Americana.

TICKETS & INFORMATION

The panel begins at 3 p.m., followed by the concert at 4 p.m., on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at The Music Hall's Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, NH.

Admission to the panel is included with a concert ticket. Concert tickets are $35, $41, $51, and $61, plus applicable fees.

For tickets and information, visit TheMusicHall.org or call 603.436.2400.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS & MODERATOR

Nathalie Fortier — CFOO & Interim CEO, Future in Sight
Nathalie joined Future In Sight in 2014 with over thirty years of business and finance experience. With more than seventeen years of experience as a leader in the non-profit sector, she oversees all aspects of financial operations, ensures effective support of program implementation, fiscal responsibility, financial reporting, and regulatory compliance.

Beth Daisy — Adult Vision Rehabilitation Manager, Future in Sight
Beth Daisy joined Future In Sight in 2020 as an Occupational Therapist and now manages Future In Sight's Adult Rehabilitation Services. In addition to being a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist, she is an ACVREP Certified Low Vision Therapist (CLVT), a RESNA Certified Assistive Technology Professional (ATP), and Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS).

Freddy Petrone — Executive Director, I Got Bridged
Freddy Petrone is a Portsmouth community advocate and founder of I Got Bridged, a nonprofit he established in 2021 to help people in need across the Seacoast. After losing his eyesight to a rare genetic disease in 2018 while recovering from addiction, Freddy found renewed purpose in serving others. His organization provides free transportation to essential services, meals, and supplies for people experiencing homelessness. A co-founder of Recovery Church Portsmouth and a TEDx speaker at The Music Hall, Freddy brings firsthand experience navigating blindness and a commitment to removing barriers to community access and support.

Monte Bohanan — Director of Communications and Community Engagement, City of Portsmouth
Monte Bohanan is the Director of Communications & Community Engagement for the City of Portsmouth, responsible for both daily and strategic communications. He brings nearly 30 years of experience in nonprofit and event management, including 22 years at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, where he spent a decade as Director of Marketing & Communications, leading event operations, marketing, and public relations.

Ricky McKinnie — Leader and Spokesman, The Blind Boys of Alabama
Eric 'Ricky' McKinnie is a member of the legendary gospel group, The Blind Boys of Alabama. As a group, The Blind Boys take their message of hope to audiences around the world. But when they aren't traveling and performing together, Ricky shares his inspirational and more personal testimony through public speaking engagements and in concerts where he performs alone or with musicians of his choice. McKinnie is a soulful vocalist and drummer who was raised in an Atlanta home that was always filled with the sounds of music.

Markus Gottschlich — President & CEO, The Music Hall; Panel Moderator
Markus Gottschlich is a seasoned nonprofit executive with an international track record of revitalizing arts organizations and now serves as President and CEO of The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A Steinway Artist, composer, and educator, he combines artistic vision with strategic leadership to expand access, deepen community connections, and create lasting impact through the arts.

ABOUT THE MUSIC HALL

The Music Hall is a nonprofit performing arts organization featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus: The Historic Theater, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, designated an American Treasure for the Arts by the National Park Service's Save America's Treasures Program; and the intimate Music Hall Lounge around the corner.