For any human to lose his or her hearing is overwhelming.

For a composer, it’s catastrophic.

Like Beethoven, Bedřich Smetana, Gabriel Fauré, and Vaughan Williams before him, composer John Michael Luther went through a life-altering loss of hearing.

“My hearing began to get worse a couple of years ago,” he tells me. “Then it was gone. I can only hear jumbled sounds, even with hearing aids. I was heartbroken. As a composer and musician, the loss of hearing is almost incalculable.”

“But during my despair,” Luther continues, “I was given an amazing opportunity.”

Curious, I ask what?

“I was asked by conductor, David Amos, to write a work for him. At first, I had mixed feelings. He asked me to see what ‘I could do’ with a poem his 15-year-old granddaughter had written entitled, Silence.

“I struggled to hear any music. I sort of felt like Charles Schulz after he had a stroke and could not write anymore. Schulz said, ‘It was all taken from me.’

“Musically, everything above a high C sounded a half step higher than the notes below. Even then I can barely hear a melody, and my upper and lower range were gone.

“In other words, I almost denied the request.

“But almost miraculously, however, the words of the poem took on incredible meaning. I began to hear everything perfectly in my mind. The sound of the orchestra, soprano solos and orchestration: it was all there. I was amazed.”

I asked how he wrote down the music.

“I could not use a piano at all. I’ve never heard the piece audibly, only in my mind. So, I notated it based upon what was in my head.”

Was it performed?

“Yes. It was performed in June of 2024 to the pleasure of Mr. Amos, the orchestra, the solo soprano and the audience. No corrections to the music were needed; it worked as I wrote it. I can only attribute it to God’s grace. A composer who composes only from his mind was something I couldn’t imagine, but now I’ve done it, so I can appreciate what other composers such as Beethoven, accomplished.”

Selection of Silence by John Michael Luther. Selection provided by JM Luther

John Michael Luther was born in Long Beach, California, moving to New Mexico as composer and educator. Many New Mexico residents may know Luther as a radio personality on KHFM, New Mexico’s classical radio station.

Composer John Michael Luther. Photo provided by JM Luther

Luther has composed, published and recorded numerous works for choral groups, chamber, wind ensembles, and symphony orchestras.

His music has been performed by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; Philadelphia Orchestra; San Diego Symphony Orchestra; New York City Opera; International Sejong Soloists of New York City; choral ensembles, Sangre de Cristo Chorale; Polyphony—Voices of New Mexico, and The Santa Fe Desert Chorale.

Brian C. Nixon, Ph.D., is Chief Academic Officer and professor at Veritas International University in Albuquerque. As a writer, musician, and artist, his interests surround the philosophical transcendentals: truth, beauty, and goodness. You can contact Brian via his Bandcamp email address: https://briancharlesnixon.bandcamp.com