Underscoring both the imperative of social distancing, and simultaneously the crucial importance of the arts – and music in particular – in maintaining the health and spiritual well-being of humans*, a group of infectious disease doctors, epidemiologists, and other health experts joins forces with Ariel AVANT to offer the ROBINSON RECITALS initiative.

Through this platform, we are putting out a call to classical musicians and vocalists – soloists through sextets – to curate and perform a “live” social-distancing video-concert (30 minutes in length) specifically designed for people in retirement communities and nursing homes. In the current COVID-19 global pandemic, retirement home residents are now cut off from the outside world, even from their families, as well as from each other. Retirement home concert series have been canceled entirely, as the communities are forced to shut their doors to the outside world to protect their residents, one of the populations most vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Each week, the competition will offer a $500 prize to the top concert performance submission. Musicians themselves should respect “social distancing,” and ensembles should solve creatively what it means to give a “live” performance under that constraint. The winning performance links will be distributed widely to retirement home and nursing home communities, where residents, their family members from afar, staff, and others can enjoy them as they are able to during their days. Family members and their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers living in retirement homes can watch the same live concert video together at the same time at their own convenience, from their separate residences, and in that way, share a live performance in real time.

If you know a retirement home activities coordinator, retirement home resident, or family member who would like to receive distributed concert links by email, please have them sign up HERE. 

ROBINSON RECITALS is named after my grandparents, Lucia and John Robinson, with whom we toured as kids to bring their variety show “The Severna Park Bums” to retirement homes across the state of Maryland. “The Bums” shows featured not just music, but comedy, skits, marionettes, singalongs, and more; everybody brought their own talents to the table. The residents had a great time, and our four generations of performers and audience members all enjoyed punch and cookies together after the show.