DeBlois, Tony

Category: Ill or disabled

Tony DeBlois was born on January 22, 1974.

Weighing less than two pounds, he was premature and had to be supplied with large amounts of oxygen. Large amounts of oxygen cause blindness, and the physicians during this time were unaware of this. Consequently, Tony became blind at just a few days old.

He began to play piano at the age of two. At first DeBlois studied in the Perkins School for the Blind but in 1989 was awarded a summer scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Later he was admitted as a full-time student and graduated magna cum laude in 1996.

DeBlois specializes in jazz, but can play just about any other type of music as well. The music of the inspired. 

A savant, he plays 20 musical instruments and has held concerts worldwide but also has his own band, Goodnuf. He can play about 8,000 pieces from memory.

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• Tony DeBlois