MEDIA ALERT: UND will host its first Sensory Family Concert

Participants can grab fidget toys, fluttering scarves to flow with the rhythm of the music

WHO: Music lovers young, old and in between.

WHAT: “Spectrum of Sounds: Music without Barriers,” the first event in UND’s Sensory Family Concert Series. Google defines a sensory-friendly concert as a live music performance designed to be more welcoming and comfortable for individuals with sensory sensitivities, such as those on the autism spectrum, by making adjustments to the environment and experience. 

WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday, April 5.

WHERE: Christus Rex Campus Center, 3012 University Ave., Grand Forks.

WHY: Because everyone can — and should — enjoy the full musical experience.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ling Lo, teaching assistant professor in Collaborative Piano within UND’s Department of Music, ling.lo@UND.edu.

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The University of North Dakota Department of Music will host “Spectrum of Sounds: Music without Barriers” as the opening concert in its brand-new Sensory Family Concert Series.

The concert — set for 2 p.m. Saturday in the Christus Rex Campus Center at 3012 University Avenue — is free of charge and open to the public. As many as 30 patrons of Grand Forks’ Listen Center will be among the guests.

Organizing the local sensory concert was the brainchild of Ling Lo, teaching assistant professor of Collaborative Piano at UND. She will co-direct with Melanie Popejoy, teaching associate professor and associate director of Choral Activities at UND.

Lo, a native of Taiwan, is an active performer who’s been invited as a guest recital artist at multiple universities and festivals. Before joining UND, she earned doctoral degrees in Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano at Michigan State University in East Lansing. That’s where she also served four years as program assistant for “Celebrating of Spectrum: A Festival for Music and Life.”

In 2017, she presented the same program developed for young autistic pianists at an international autism conference in Limerick, Ireland.

“The whole experience was really life-changing for me,” Lo said. “As a universal language, music provides such a pure way for everybody to express their feelings. There’s no difference, no judgment. There’s nothing but pure expression, and I found that to be very powerful.”

Why so serious?

The lifelong musician says she’s passionate about classical music, but she doesn’t understand why it always has to come with a set of too-serious and too-formal expectations for both musicians and listeners.

“We create all that unnecessary stress,” Lo said. “Music should be inclusive, so why do we box it in by playing in only certain environments where we expect everyone to sit perfectly still? This concert is for everybody, and we want everyone to feel the joy in their own way.”

That means, for instance, that guests will be encouraged to get up and walk around if they feel the urge. Individual chairs will be spaced out and have extra padding for sensory comfort. The lights will stay lit, and the volume will be toned down. And guests also will have the option to move to an adjacent “quiet room” or put on sound-buffering headphones.

Participants also will be welcome to grab a fidget toy or a colorful scarf if they want to dance and flow with the rhythm.

Guest artists and celebrated musicians Sangmi Lim and Dino Mulic of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will start the hourlong concert off with a four-hand piano duet and singalong Disney Medley, followed by a piece from “The Lion King” and medleys from “Mamma Mia!” and “The Greatest Showman.”

Next, will be an intermission and then a special student performance of “The Carnival of Animals” by Charles-Camille Saint-Saens.

Lo said 21 ensemble students will play “pretty much every instrument you can think of — we have strings, piano, brass, woodwinds and percussion.”

With permission from The Chicago Poetry Center, student musician Isaac Anderson also will narrate with excerpts of poetry developed for “The Carnival of Animals.”

“My ultimate goal is for everyone to have a fun Saturday afternoon of music,” Lo said. “If it’s the first concert for even one person, I see that as a success because that shows we were able to create a sensory-friendly space where people will want to come back.”

>> Music is for everyone. Lo says she hopes to organize a Sensory Family Concert each semester. If you want to learn more, reach Lo at ling.lo@UND.edu. Plus, stay tuned. UND Today plans to take in the Saturday concert and will share a story soon.

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