About Us
The Adaptive Music and Arts Project (AAMP) brings together two connected efforts: researching effective ways to teach the arts adaptively and running the Cincinnati Adaptive Arts and Music Camp (CAAMC). The project began about 15 years ago when co-founders Deborah Amend and Jennifer Petry set out to find better ways to adapt music instruction for their own children with significant physical disabilities. Drawing on backgrounds in music education and lived experiences with their children, they developed individualized instructional approaches. They partnered with the Cincinnati-based engineering charity May We Help to create custom supports and instruments. Their early work showed that personalized adaptation plans could dramatically expand access to music for children with complex physical needs.
CAAMC launched with eight students receiving intensive piano and string instruction, each of whom left with a personalized Music Adaptation Plan and adaptive equipment. Over time, the camp expanded to include brass, guitar, ceramics, and other adaptive arts. Today, AAMP continues to study and refine adaptive teaching practices, using CAAMC as both a learning space and a catalyst for change.
Our mission is to give students with physical disabilities adaptive access to arts and music, building a foundation for skill development, creativity, and lifelong growth.
Below is a brief documentary on the first Cincinnati Adaptive Music Camp (prior to the inclusion of the arts) in 2015:
Meet the Team
Deborah Amend, PhD
Co-Director and Piano Specialist
Deborah Amend, PhD, is an assistant professor of special education at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). She began her career as a music teacher, directing an inclusive piano studio for 20 years before transitioning into special education, a change of direction that followed her and her husband adopting three children with physical disabilities. After serving students across the P–12 continuum, she moved into teacher preparation and educational studies. In 2012, she co-founded the Adaptive Music Project, advancing best practices in adaptive music education through initiatives such as Cincinnati Adaptive Music Camp and Music Adaptation Plans. In addition to her work at NKU, Dr. Amend continues to teach adaptive piano and consults with music educators internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Master’s in Multicultural Special Education from Mount Saint Joseph University, and a PhD in Education and Social Change from Bellarmine University.
Jennifer Petry
Co-Director and Strings Specialist
Jennifer Petry is the director of orchestras at Veritas Academy and has a Suzuki studio in Lancaster, PA. She is pursuing a doctorate in Music Education with a focus on disability studies at Boston University. She holds an MM in Orchestral Conducting from Messiah University and a joint BM in Violin Performance and Music Education from the University of Cincinnati CCM. Mrs. Petry directs and consults for the non-profit “Adaptive Music Project,” and co-directs the Cincinnati Adaptive Music Camp, which helps students with physical disabilities connect with their instruments. She and her husband have adopted and raised six children with special needs, which informs her unique approach to adapting music pedagogy. Mrs. Petry has taught private lessons, run chamber camps, and presented at conferences for over thirty years. Many of her students have achieved significant honors and pursued music careers.
David Nabb, PhD
Woodwinds Specialist
David Nabb, PhD, is Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where he directs the UNK One-Handed Woodwinds Program. Since surviving a catastrophic stroke in 2000, Dr. Nabb worked with instrument builder Jeff Stelling to develop a professional saxophone that can be played with one hand. In 2023, he became the first person to perform with a one-handed saxophone in a prestigious “evening concert” at a NASA (North American Saxophone Alliance) Biennial Conference. The toggle key saxophone has been featured in installations at the Museum of the Royal Colleges of Music, (London) and the NAMM Museum of Making Music (San Diego). Dr. Nabb has written extensively on music making for people with disabilities. He is a Yamaha performing Artist (YAS 875 adapted for right handed playing by Stelling Brass & Winds), and plays Eugene Rousseau saxophone mouthpieces.
Valerie Thomforde
Piano and Recorder Specialist
Valerie Thomforde is a general music educator, choral director, and collaborative pianist based in Massachusetts. Born with an atypical cleft hand, she has a right hand with a thumb and pinky. She studied piano with Arlene Kies at the University of New Hampshire, whose clever approach to technique was profoundly influential. Valerie holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire, Orff-Schulwerk Certification from George Mason University, and a Master’s in Music Education with Kodály Emphasis from Holy Names University. As a young student, Valerie played brass and string instruments. Later, as she pursued Orff-Schulwerk training, Valerie delved into adaptive recorder playing. She plays customized soprano and alto recorders with keywork by Peter Worrell. Valerie has written articles on adaptive recorder for the Orff Echo and American Recorder Magazine.
Tony Memmel
Guitar Specialist
Born with one hand, Tony taught himself to play guitar professionally by building a one-of-a-kind adaptive cast out of duct tape. With his message, music, unique charisma, and creativity, Tony has been invited to speak and perform in 47 U.S. states and 26 countries – plus 16 countries virtually – inspiring audiences with his talks about hard work, determination, and resilience. His speaking experience includes the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Air Force, various Fortune 500 companies, Universities, Churches & Church Conferences, The Superdome, small businesses, middle school gymnasiums, and children’s hospitals. Tony grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and now resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and two sons. He enjoys playing basketball, swimming, hiking, and cooking & trying new foods… especially if hot sauce is involved.
Melinda Hickman, DMA
Piano Specialist
Originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Melinda Hickman earned Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. She has won many scholarships and awards, including first prize in the Rildia Bee O’Bryan Cliburn Piano Competition, CCM’s Outstanding Academic Achievement Award, and was chosen twice to perform live on the classical radio station, WGUC. For 22 years Dr. Hickman was a faculty member at Cincinnati Christian University, where she enjoyed teaching applied piano, class piano, piano pedagogy, music history, and music in world cultures. After CCU closed in 2019, Dr. Hickman joined the music faculty at Northern Kentucky University and also opened Espressivo Piano Studio where she teaches children and adults. She is an active performer and adjudicator in the Cincinnati area.
Expansion to Visual Arts
Like music, the visual arts have a strong physical component. Students with physical disabilities often have limited options when they want to study drawing, painting, sculpture, or pottery on the pottery wheel. Often, adaptive equipment is expensive and difficult to obtain, and students are unsure whether it will work.
CAAMC offers students the opportunity to try tools and techniques in an environment where they feel free to explore how best to use their bodies to create visual art.
Saya Amend
Visual Arts Specialist
A 2025 graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, Saya (https://www.instagram.com/pooterypieces) is currently an Artist in Residence at Core Clay, located in Norwood, Ohio. In addition to her work as a ceramicist, Saya is also known for her skill in painting and was the first-place winner in Ohio’s Accessible Expressions Emerging Artists Category in 2023. Born with bilateral radial club hand, Saya is passionate about creating accessible spaces where Disabled artists can explore art, using their bodies in ways that make sense to them. In addition to her work at Core Clay, Saya was recently selected as one of 15 artists nationwide to join the Kennedy Center/VSA Emerging Arts 2026 cohort. Her sculpture, My Skin Doesn’t Fit, will be on exhibition at the Kennedy Center this year.
Additional Team Members
Aly Amend
Mentor
Aly is currently a law student, having earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work from Miami University in 2025, though music was their first passion. Beginning at a young age, Aly discovered the cello and fell in love. Their desire to learn the instrument was nurtured by their mother, CAAMC founder Deb Amend, and they flourished under the instruction of master cello teachers over the years. They enjoyed not only their school orchestra but participating in audition-only community orchestras as well. Throughout their life, Aly has also been passionate about musical theater. They participated in many shows, including playing General Matilda Cartwright in Guys and Dolls and Lord Farquaad in Shrek the Musical. To this day, they still love to engage in the performing arts through the cello and singing. A full-time power wheelchair user with arms that have limited strength and range of motion (AMC), Aly is happy to serve as a mentor to campers! Aly is looking forward to continuing the legacy that was started by the original CAMC many years ago, bringing the instruction and engineering necessary to provide accessible arts instruction to those with physical disabilities!
Elena Petry
Mentor
Elena Petry recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. She has played the cello with her feet since the age of 7, and has benefitted from the devices that the engineers at May We Help made as well as the teaching of her mother, CAAMC co-director Jennifer Petry. Miss Petry is passionate in her efforts to bring awareness about adaptations in the music world through videos she posts on social media (Instagram, TikTok). She has also co-presented at the Kennedy Center’s LEAD Conference and at the Maine Orthopedic Conference. This has started opening more doors for advocacy and she is excited to see where it leads. Elena is pleased to be part of the CAAMC as a mentor for the up and coming adaptive players.