Silvio Plata, 21, has been drawn to music for as long as he can remember. He lost his sight to cancer when he was just a year old, and for years he made music the way that came naturally to him, playing the piano entirely by ear.
Playing by ear served him well, but only up to a point. It carried him until college, where he ran into a barrier that many musicians never have to think about. Because he cannot see, he was not able to read music, a limitation that stood between him and the next stage of his development as a pianist.
He finally found a way to level the score through a program run by Jim Choi at the Miami Lighthouse. There he began learning note value and the skills that let him read music, opening up the written language of the art form that had always been part of his life.
That progress led to a once-in-a-lifetime moment in 2019, when Plata performed alongside Andrea Bocelli. The renowned tenor had visited the Miami Lighthouse to learn about its music programs, and the two ended up sharing the stage. By Plata's account, they got along very well, Bocelli went to the piano, he stood next to him, and the rest was history.
The encounter carried a deeper meaning. Bocelli is also blind and is known for supporting people living with vision loss, which made the experience all the more powerful for the young musician, who described the day as surreal.
Now Plata is preparing for a new chapter away from the keyboard. He is set to graduate from college this year, and for his next act he will be attending law school at the University of Miami.