Want a classical music performance for your grandparents at home? Vanderbilt Blair School students can help

Marion Katz, a 92-year-old Nashville resident, had some skepticism when she rolled her wheelchair toward a laptop sitting on the kitchen table.

But when she heard the first note from a teenager’s violin on a recent Sunday night, her brightest day of the coronavirus pandemic had arrived.

“I don’t care about computers and all that jazz,” Katz said. “But when I realized that music was being played just for me, it was amazement.”

Katz, a Jewish woman who fled Nazi Germany in 1933 as a child, is among a few older Nashvillians receiving private performances by classical music students from Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music using video conferencing apps during the pandemic.

Katz usually attends Blair School concerts in the spring, but the safer-at-home order has prevented that. Her caretakers recently connected her on a Zoom call to some young performers who had a heart-warming gift.

“It makes you feel really nice to play for them — really nice,” said Georgia Martin, a 14-year-old violinist at Blair School. “I was sad for missing out on a lot of recitals. But I’m helping people have a better day, and that motivates me.”

‘It felt so fulfilling’

The idea developed from a couple of musical families early in the pandemic.

Zack Ebin, the Blair School director of Suzuki violin program, wanted to cheer up his parents, who live in Stony Brook, New York. So he staged a small performance for them along with his sons, 8-year-old Zev and 5-year-old Ezra, on a Zoom call.

Then one of Ebin's prized students, 16-year-old Nora Wang, played with her brother Adam and sister Louisa in a similar performance for a supporter of Blair School on another Zoom call.

“It felt so fulfilling,” Wang said. “I was hooked.”

The Blair School hears about prospective audience members by word of mouth. All that’s needed is a caretaker to connect them via a video conferencing app such as Zoom, FaceTime or Skype. They are paired with a student, and the private performance is scheduled.

Performers range from 5 years old to current Vanderbilt University students, but most are in high school. The calls last about 20 minutes, which students spend playing and talking to their audience member.

“Before they play for them, they check on how they’re doing,” Ebin said. “There’s just something about their youthful spirit and energy that people find uplifting.”

'We're safe, and we can still play'

Students play the violin, cello, piano and flute. Pieces by Bach and Chopin are on the playlist, but requests often expand the selections.

“People always ask for more,” Ebin said. “That’s been a common thread.”

Students also perform twice a week for Abe’s Garden, an assisted living home in Nashville for patients with Alzheimer’s and memory loss. Residents crowd around a screen to hear a song and get a glimpse of a young smiling face.

“If a resident is walking by and hears the Blair students playing, they’ll sit down and listen to the remainder of the performance," said Susan Burdorf, volunteer coordinator at Abe’s Garden. "The residents smile and laugh. And at the end, they applaud and say how cute the kids are.” 

Sheeline Yu, a 17-year-old who plays violin, noticed her audience members quickly learned how to use the Zoom app.

“People will figure out how to use the chat feature, and they’ll comment while we’re playing — something like, ‘This is so fun. Thank you’,” Yu said. “It’s really neat to know that they enjoy it.”

Yu is a junior at University School of Nashville, which has been closed since mid-March. Rehearsing music at home has been her solace, but she recognizes older people have fewer options for comfort during strict quarantines.

“We’re lucky. We’re at home, we’re safe and we can still play,” Yu said. “We, at least, want to use our music to make someone’s day more interesting.”

Some restrictions during the pandemic are loosening in Middle Tennessee, and Nashville is planning to reopen select businesses in early May. But residents 65 years and older are still encouraged to stay at home.

So the Blair School wants to expand its audience to others who need a little music to brighten their homes. 

“Everybody is trying to figure out what they can do to help others,” Ebin said. “We are musicians. This is how we help people.”

How to get a private performance for someone you love

Have a grandparent, neighbor or older loved one who needs an uplifting performance from a classical music student during the pandemic? All you need is access to a video conferencing app such as Zoom, FaceTime or Skype for the person to watch from their home. To set up a time for an online performance, email Zack Ebin at zachary.ebin@vanderbilt.edu.

Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.