\u201cI know I have to work on the piece you\u2019ve assigned,\u201d he said, \u201cbut let\u2019s try something new. Something that will take me away from all this hard work for a minute. Let\u2019s approach a different angle for jazz improvisation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The teacher was Bob Sneider \u201993, an associate professor of jazz studies and contemporary media who has taught at the school, which is part of the 人妻少妇专区<\/a>, since 1997. He told Sood, \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEshaan always challenges himself with harder material\u2014the kind I wouldn\u2019t jump into the deep end of the pool if I were a first-year student,\u201d Sneider says.<\/p>\n Sood is used to challenges. Seven years ago, he was in a car accident in his native India that left him blind, his face shattered, his spirit broken. But it also led him to a stark realization: \u201cIf the accident hadn\u2019t happened,\u201d he says, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be doing what I love.\u201d<\/p>\n The New Delhi native turned 27 in March, and his 7,200-mile trek to Rochester is paved with setbacks few could imagine.<\/p>\n Growing up in India, he learned to play both drums and guitar, and at 14, he started a business selling Indian CDs and merchandise. But by the time he was 16, \u201cno one knew me as a musician anymore, but rather as an entrepreneur,\u201d he says. \u201cMy parents very much wanted me to pursue entrepreneurship and go to college. I didn\u2019t love business as much as I loved music. But my dad wanted me to have a career in business.\u201d<\/p>\n Sood decided to pursue art and design, the only other field that interested him. He entered the Srishti School of Art Design and Technology in Bengaluru, but he wasn\u2019t happy. \u201cFor the next two years, I was a mediocre graphic designer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Then came the accident.<\/p>\n On Friday, March 6, 2015, Sood and his roommate, Arjun, began a seven-hour drive to Puducherry to enjoy a country-wide festival. \u201cIt was going to be a fun, long weekend,\u201d Sood says. \u201cA time to unwind and get away from school.\u201d<\/p>\n But 20 minutes from their destination, their Hyundai Eon crashed into the rear of a tractor trailer. Arjun suffered facial injuries, but Sood\u2019s injuries were devastating.<\/p>\n \u201cSomehow, I woke up briefly and dragged myself into the ambulance,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I was in a coma for the next three days and on life support for a week.\u201d<\/p>\n Sood would need eight titanium plates in his face and dentures to replace 11 lost teeth. His jaw, broken in three places, would be wired shut for weeks. He had a broken knee. But worst of all for the then art student, the crash also destroyed his retinas, leaving him blind.<\/p>\n Doctors at three different hospitals\u2014including one in Singapore\u2014tried to restore his sight. But, Sood says, \u201cThe retina cannot be replaced, and my optic nerve died.\u201d<\/p>\n During his month-long hospital stay, he fell into a depression. \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of use for an art designer who can\u2019t see,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Eight weeks after the crash, Sood received a dose of good fortune.<\/p>\n He played bass in Space Behind the Yellow Room, a rock band popular in Indian music circles. Soon after the accident, the band was offered its first international gig\u2014two shows, all expenses paid, in Singapore. And the other members needed to know if Sood was in or out. \u201cMy options were to play the shows or they would get a substitute bass player,\u201d Sood says. \u201cI got my act together pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Sood\u2019s mother and brother joined him on the trip to Singapore. \u201cIt was amazing,\u201d he says. \u201cI got to meet Led Zeppelin\u2019s manager, Katy Perry\u2019s manager, and the head of Spotify. And the shows were awesome and super important to me. I\u2019d had this feeling of, \u2018I don\u2019t know what the hell I\u2019m going to do\u2019 after the accident. But I realized, \u2018I can definitely do this.\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Sood dropped out of the Srishti School in January 2016 and entered the Global Music Institute, 30 minutes from his family\u2019s home in New Delhi. He graduated from GMI in 2019 and decided to continue his education in music.<\/p>\n He first heard of Eastman from Adam Neely, a bass player whose music theory channel on YouTube has more than 1.5 million subscribers. Sood began talking to other musicians about Eastman and decided to apply.<\/p>\n His mother accompanied him to Rochester, where he traveled for his audition in February 2020. Accepted, he prepared for the long journey and new venture that awaited him that fall. Then came another setback: the Covid-19 pandemic shut the world down a month later. Sood decided to defer his admission for a year. He finally arrived on campus last August.<\/p>\n Sood is one of three blind students at the University, and the only one at Eastman. He uses text-to-speech software on his computer and turns to staff at the Office of Disability Resources<\/a>, who work closely with students\u2019 instructors as needs arise. The office serves students across the University, and 945 students are registered as of the spring 2022 semester. Director Amy Wight says, \u201cthe actual number of students with disabilities is likely quite a bit higher, because students have the option to disclose or not.\u201d<\/p>\n Sood has his own room in the Student Living Center and says the Eastman community has been \u201cawesome\u201d in helping him navigate the downtown campus. \u00a0\u201cEverything from walking across the street to finding rooms,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful to everyone who works in the dining center and helped me navigate the area. That was a mess for me to figure out. I\u2019d go hungry without them.\u201d<\/p>\n He was so moved by the support he receives that earlier this year he sent an email to Eastman\u2019s Office of Academic Affairs<\/a>, thanking the community for making his transition into the school easier. \u201cThere are certain people who I have met only once, yet they made sure I didn\u2019t run into a pole on a sidewalk,\u201d he wrote, \u201cand I don\u2019t even know their names. It continues to be an absolute honor and pleasure to be part of this wonderful community.\u201d<\/p>\n Sood talks to his parents regularly, and his sister is a student at Columbia University in New York. His uncle lives in San Francisco, and Sood visited him over winter break as well as his Eastman classmate Eric Paige \u201825E.<\/p>\n Sood says the most challenging part of attending Eastman is finding a room he hasn\u2019t been to before. \u201cThere are stairs and doors everywhere,\u201d he says. The school assigned him a dedicated practice room, where he can store his guitars and amps. \u201cIt has made life so much easier, and I\u2019m very grateful for that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Unlike many other blind people, Sood doesn\u2019t count steps to map his route. \u201cIt never works for me,\u201d he says. \u201cI try to find other landmarks, such as poles, alleys, and doors.\u201d<\/p>\n Nadia Magalski \u201925, \u201925E, a dual degree student majoring in music performance (double bass) and physics and astronomy from Manassas, Virginia, was struck by Sood\u2019s generosity and positive outlook, when they met last fall.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a very upbeat person,\u201d she says. \u201cHe has an extreme desire to make everyone around him happy and cared about.\u201d<\/p>\n Sood says one of the more frustrating aspects of being blind is not being able to read his friends\u2019 emotions, simply by examining their faces. \u201cI care about people, and I\u2019m not able to tell if their face is showing anger, frustration, or happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n Sood\u2019s dream is to become a performing musician. While he has several idols, he says Herbie Hancock is \u201cthe one whose music and words got me to choose a life in music.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know I have a major disability,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I don\u2019t lead my life with that in the forefront. Being blind is more of a background thing to me. Either I can do something, or I can\u2019t. I do what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Eshaan](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/eshaan-sood-bob-sneider.jpg\")
Turning to music<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Life at Eastman<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Eshaan](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/eshaan-sood-walk-to-class.jpg\")
\nRead more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Student](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/fea-Giuliano-de-Castro-study.jpg\")
One family, two generations, three degrees<\/strong><\/a>
\nA car accident during his first winter break had left Giuliano Agostinho de Castro \u201920 paralyzed from the chest down. Now he\u2019s back on campus, and his parents are his classmates.<\/span><\/div>\n
![\"Student](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/fea-2023-jafre-chase.jpg\")
Violist finds his home at Eastman School of Music<\/strong><\/a>![\"Female](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/fea-beth-greenwood-league-of-their-own-600h.jpg\")
Beth Greenwood \u201922 in a league of her own<\/strong><\/a>