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PITTSFIELD – After Yo-Yo Ma received his second COVID-19 vaccine at Berkshire Community College on Saturday, he turned his 15-minute observation period into a concert for the newly vaccinated.
The world-renowned cellist and part-time Berkshires resident completed his vaccination course at the country house clinic, and he “wanted to give something back,” said Richard Hall of the Berkshire COVID-19 Vaccine Collaborative at The Eagle.
Yo-Yo Ma sat along the wall of the observation area, masked and socially away from others. He then spent 15 minutes under observation playing the cello in front of a cheering audience, in what Hall called a “very special” concert that wrapped up the day’s vaccination event.
“What a way to end the clinic,” Hall wrote in an email.
Today at #MyBCC vaccination clinic, people who waited for 15 minutes for observation were honored with the musical talents of the one and only Yo-Yo Ma. 😍 @ Berkshire Community College https://t.co/GOXoEAwfKa
– BerkCommunityCollege (@BerkshireCC) March 13, 2021
@YoYo_Ma is always a classy act #intheberkshires. Bringing hope and optimism through his beautiful music. #mapoli # GetVaccinated #stopCovid https://t.co/De0sw5yGni
– Smitty Pignatelli (@repsmitty) March 13, 2021
Berkshire Community College shared news of Yo-Yo Ma’s informal performance on social media, and State Representative William “Smitty” Pignatelli praised the musician for “bringing hope and optimism through its beautiful music. ” The college shared excerpts from the concert on Facebook.
In a poetic circumstance, Yo-Yo Ma’s second coronavirus shot and next gig comes exactly one year after he released his first recording of himself playing his instrument using the hashtag #SongsOfComfort.
Amid the fear and uncertainty that marked the early days of the pandemic, the world-famous musician began sharing the recordings in the hope that they would bring solace and connection to a frightened nation.
“In these days of anxiety,” he wrote on Twitter on March 13, 2020, “I wanted to find a way to continue to share some of the music that comforts me. #SongsOfComfort: Dvořák – “Coming home”
In these days of anxiety, I wanted to find a way to continue to share some of the music that comforts me. The first of my #SongsOfComfort: Dvořák – “Going Home” Stay safe. pic.twitter.com/S28w6OlXiZ
– Yo-Yo Ma (@YoYo_Ma) March 13, 2020
This isn’t the first time Yo-Yo Ma has regaled the unsuspecting with music during the pandemic. In September, he and Emanuel Ax gave a series of surprise pop-up concerts for essential workers, shortly after treating essential workers and first responders in a virtual concert broadcast live.
Francesca Paris contributed to this report
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