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Daily Inspiration: Meet Charlie Kramer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlie Kramer.

Hi Charlie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
At the age of five, I was diagnosed with a rare retinal eye disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP for short). RP causes me to lose my peripheral vision and be blind at night. By the age of 15, I was legally blind and my doctors told me I would never drive. From the ages of 15-24, I spent my life hiding from the reality of my blindness, and I hid it from the world. I never wanted to be the blind musician and spiritual leader, I wanted to be “normal.”

At 24, I experienced this huge shift in my life. Through the lens of Kabbalah, I began to realize that hiding from my blindness was not only hurting me but others close to me and the greater community. I was born this way for a beautiful reason, to share my story and unique vision with others. Through sharing about my journey, I have come to absolutely love my blindness. From this place, Singing in the Dark was born.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
My journey has been both smooth and turbulent. In coming to grips with my reality, I spent a lot of time trying to fit in with the sighted community, which caused me to break quite a few bones and deepen my struggle in the process. I have always found it so interesting that being blind and using a cane creates such a visual marking to others. When I don’t use my cane, it’s as if people are blind to my visual challenges. When I use my cane, everyone can see that I am blind, which is a really unique feeling. Something so vulnerable becomes so visible to everyone around you. I really struggled with the visibility of using my cane and often decided not to use my cane in times when I should have because I didn’t want to be seen as “the blind guy”. Funny enough, I have come to love being the blind guy and really enjoy using my cane. It allows me to feel a deeper sense of freedom and grounding that I often don’t have without my cane. If I’m honest, I still struggle with the visibility of my cane, but I have gotten to a point of comfort and recognizing the blessings within being strong enough to fight through those old insecurities.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Through and through, I’m a songleader. My job is to bring people together in powerful spiritual moments through music. I’ve been song leading since I was in seventh grade, and I’ve actually never done anything else for work in my life. As an artist, I write music with the intent of singing it with groups and bring communities together in mind. Even if I am asked to play a concert, getting the audience involved is my number one priority. To me, there is nothing more transformative than a group of people singing as one. Over the years leading, I have begun to train others in song leading techniques, skills and essential repertoire. With the creation of Singing in the Dark, I have begun doing work as a speaker, telling my story of overcoming my blindness. In addition to my work as an artist, performer and speaker, I host two podcasts, The Charlie Kramer Podcast and Jewish Rock Radio’s JRR Artist Feature.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
If you are a community, synagogue or center looking for a transformative artist, speaker and/or experience, I would love to collaborate with you! You can reach out at charlie@charliekramermusic.com. If you are a Jewish synagogue looking for great monthly virtual programming that is both affordable and hassle-free, I curate a program called Kehilah. Kehilah is a monthly series of events that I curate, create and deliver to synagogues. The events include top thought leaders, musicians and performers with excellent visual and audio quality. You can learn more at charliekramermusic.com/kehilah. Another great way to connect with me is to attend one of our FREE Singing in the Dark virtual experiences in partnership with Wilshire Boulevard Temple. You can register for the next event on my website: charliekramermusic.com/singinginthedark. And of course, I’d love for you to listen to my music on Spotify and Apple music and connect with me via my podcasts at charliekramermusic.com/podcasts.

Contact Info:


Image Credits:

Jamie Adam Rosenberg Jessica Mundt

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