About LotuSIGN.
Every interpreter performing with LotuSIGN has a lengthy vita and is highly certified. What sets these interpreters apart from the everyday qualified interpreter is the natural gifts they bring to music interpreting, partnered with an incredible history of practical experience and hard work in gruelling conditions and under extreme stimulation.
Who We Are
Performance Interpreters
Barbie Parker,
Executive Director, Featured Interpreter
Barbie Parker is a music-loving native Texan residing in Austin with an extensive business background. Though sometimes mistaken for a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), she often corrects others by explaining that she is, in fact, a COBA (Child of Business Adults)! Barbie is the founding member of LotuSIGN, and North American Association of Performance Interpreters (NAAPI) establishing nationwide standards for music and performance interpreting. Barbie advises production companies, businesses, events, and venues and works pre-festivals to assure access and ADA compliance. She helps businesses understand what it means to “see” music and empathize with the visual nature of listening. While her production and business savvy helps with the entire program she runs, she also leads the industry in performance interpreting through her artistic style and thorough research. But according to her viewers’ comments (hearing and deaf, audience and musicians alike), her true gift resides in her abandonment to the music she interprets, looking like she’s having a helluva good time, and matching the high intensity of live shows. She loves EVERY show when it’s live.
Amber Galloway Gallego
Amber Galloway Gallego is an amazingly accurate interpreter with a strong love for the Deaf community, sharing her understanding of the interpreting profession and music interpreting. She teaches interpreters and interpreting students in the college classroom and in workshops nationwide and no topic is off limits! She helps interpreters learn all the down and dirty signs for the human anatomy and physical acts expressed during interpreting or at many Hip Hop shows. Amber has a talent for matching any genre of music. However, her real gift is her ability to find the personal emotional message in an artist’s work. She digs deep to convey the feeling and mood of the artist’s music and lyrics, driven by a passion to share the “goosebump” moments that inspire us all at live music events. Every song and artist is Amber’s favorite.
Lucy Brotherton
Lucy Brotherton is a interpreter with an inquisitive, artistic mind and a long history of music exposure. After teaching art at Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) Lucy merged her love for music with her interpreting career. Lucy grew up with a music-loving family, often playing music together at family gatherings. She has a vinyl collection of close to 1, 000 LP’s and a staggering library of CD’s and an unparalleled eclectic online music catalog. Lucy is the first to find new ways to enjoy music via technology and to solve technical issues on the team. She is gifted with the ability to cite almost any artist and lyric, and can beat anyone in reciting campfire tunes.
Tresa Beard
Tresa Beard is a legal interpreter with an edge. While she interprets in every setting, she interprets primarily in court for a county that leads the nation in strong legal interpreting procedures, and presenting legal interpreting and ethical workshops to her peers. By day, she observes the demure rules of court. But by night, Tresa observes a completely different model of etiquette. She pulls the music she interprets apart like taffy bringing songs to life in beautiful, picturesque, dancing sign language. Her gift is weaving the lyrics of a love song into the long, slow notes of a crescendo. But she is a also able to rap, boogie, and headbang. She is great dancer with natural rhythm. Audiences don’t want to miss her attitude when she performs a blues song!
Understudies
Marquette Laquey
Marquette Laquey has worked her way up the ranks over the past 5 years while she earned her degree and certification. She is now the Lead Understudy on her way to a goal of being the top in this specialization. She fell in love with it after witnessing her first true musical interpretation. She is passionate about her work and isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and jump in where needed. She’s studied, held flashlights, driven golf carts, interpreted, performed reggae during thunderstorms and much more! Her attitude, love for music, and constant self-appraisal will lead her straight to the top.