Frank Senior..BIO
SAG/AFTRA, NEA
I’ve built my career on one simple belief: music is my life; singing is my love. This passion, emotion, sincerity, and honesty have led me to become one of New York’s timeless vocalists.
I wake up compelled to sing and share my gift with audiences and am always searching, growing, and listening to what’s happening in the world and in music. So, I was thrilled to find this role. I’m dedicated to bringing my enthusiastic and deliberate work ethic to your organization.
I credit my sound from being a Harlem native, growing up in the Lincoln Projects. Blind since birth, it is a part of who I am and has made my other senses come alive and enhance my music in a way that touches the audience. Let the song come, and I’ll express what the story has to convey. My life is as a musician and advocate for the independence and understanding of the blind has been a big part of my story.
As you will see on the attached resume, I’ve performed at some of the most renowned jazz clubs like Birdland, Smalls, Sisters Place, and BrownstownJAZZ, Fat Cat, and Showman’s to esteemed venues as the United Nations, Gracie Mansion, and St. Peter’s Church. My festival credits include The Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing, The Morocco Jazz Festival, and Montreal International Jazz Festival.
In addition to singing, I excel as a producer, actor, consultant, and entertainer. I served as Alec Baldwin’s consultant for the movie “Blind" and was featured on the television series “What Would You Do?” produced by John Quinones. I am currently being featured in a national Mastercard commercial for the new accessible credit card for blind and partially sighted people.
I also am the owner and operator of Frank Senior’s Newsstand on 42nd Street and 5th Avenue in New York City. Please know I am also a guide dog user. If you would like any additional insight into my qualifications and accolades, please let me know, and I’ll connect you with my collection of references. Thank you for your time and consideration. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Frank Senior
Press
Awards and Honors
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National Endowment for the Arts Award
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Second Place in the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival’s “Jazz Voice” Competition
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Lifetime Achievement Award from the VISIONS Bronx Advisory Board
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Jamaica Development Corporation Appreciation Award
Press
Frank is featured in Two Books
Who Am I Now | Thomas Marten - Author
New Yorkers A City and It's People in Our Time | Craig Taylor -Author
"Over a period of six years, the author, Craig Taylor, met with, interviewed and be-friended scores of New York residents from all walks of life - each of them eager to share their slice of New York"
Dialog in the Dark visit http://www.dialognyc.com.
Blind tour guide Frank Senior shows New Yorkers how to navigate the city in total darkness
Corinne Lestch NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Dec 28, 2011 at 6:47 PM
Blind tour guide Frank Senior prepares to lead another ‘Dialog in the Dark’ tour at the South Street Seaport. The tour lets sighted people experience what it is like to be blind in New York City. (Craig Warga/New York Daily News) One Bronx resident wants New Yorkers to see the world through his eyes - in total darkness. Frank Senior was born blind, but that doesn't stop him from giving sensory tours of the city, dubbed "Dialog in the Dark," at the South Street Seaport. He gently guides fully-sighted people through different simulated city destinations: Central Park, a Fairway supermarket, the subway, Times Square and a coffee shop. "It's really to give people an idea of what it's like to move about in a blind world, so it's about using your other senses," Senior, a spry 59-year-old, said in his Co-op City home. "Being blind is all about trust. You have to trust your instincts first of all, and that will help you trust the people that you run into on a day-to-day basis."
Senior was born three months premature, which destroyed his optic nerve and left him visually impaired for the rest of his life. But his parents raised him in the Lincoln housing projects in Harlem to play with other children and maintain a normal lifestyle. "My parents kept it real for me," Senior said. "They threw me right in there...and it worked to my benefit." Senior remembers that when he was six years years old and one of the first blind and African-American children at Bronx House sleepaway camp, some candy was stolen from his locker. "I whooped (the thief's) butt, and after that I came back to the camp for 10 years in a row," Senior said, laughing. "I was the man!" Senior went to the Lavelle School for the Blind in Williamsbridge, did a short stint at the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan and dropped out of his last year at New York University in 1975 - but said he has no regrets. The married father and new grandfather said his first love is music. A longtime jazz vocalist, Senior performs all over the city and is cutting his second album in the new year. He also owns a newsstand across the street from Bryant Park, which he used to run himself. Most Read But he says that in his newest job, which he took in July, one of the best parts - aside from networking with and educating people - is 'seeing' their reactions. "People cry, people laugh because they're nervous. They always ask me, 'Do I wish I could see?'" Senior said. "I really believe that I couldn't accept it if I got eyesight now, because this is part of my personality. "I always tell people at the end of my tour that being blind is not the issue," he continued. "It's the fear of facing the unknown. You either jump in and do it, or you sit home and do nothing."
To buy tickets for Dialog in the Dark, call (888) 926-3437 or visit http://www.dialognyc.com. clestch@nydailynews.com Read More Recommended on Daily News