‘Like a godsend.’ Violinist plays parking lot concerts at Minnesota care facilities

What started as a violinist’s special performance for her grandmother has blossomed into a concert series across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Natalie VanBurkleo-Carbonara loaded up her electric violin and headed to the parking lot of the Village Shores care facility where her 93-year-old grandmother lives, WCCO reported. There, she played her grandmother a concert.

“Our family was looking for ways to have my grandma smile and share joy with her,” Natalie told the outlet, adding that other residents stepped out onto their balconies to listen to her play.

Since then, VanBurkleo-Carbonara — who founded the music outreach organization Summit Music — has played 70 parking lot performances for older adults quarantined at 12 care facilities across Minneapolis-St. Paul.

“Thank you to our 12 senior communities, 20 musicians, Springboard for the Arts and our amazing private donors,” VanBurkleo-Carbonara wrote in a Facebook post. “It’s been a beautiful non-traditional musical journey and we look forward to more music.”

Cheryl Keynes, who lives at Village Shores, said the “music is like a godsend” and helps her to “face isolation better,” WCCO reported. “When she came to my side of the building, I was just enthralled,” she said.

VanBurkleo-Carbonara often moves to each side of the building when she plays to make sure everyone gets a chance to hear the music, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

The instruments are amplified so residents can listen at a safe distance by simply opening their windows. One facility even set up a stage in the parking lot.

VanBurkleo-Carbonara said residents have been moved to tears by the music, while others have started dancing with their spouses, waving flags and shouting “bravo,” according to the Pioneer Press.

During her rendition of “Silent Night,” VanBurkleo-Carbonara said she saw one resident bow her head during the second verse through a window.

“We have played concerts while residents have been taken out by stretcher to an ambulance and they looked up at the music, and we have been on site performing when a resident sadly passed away,” VanBurkleo-Carbonara told the Pioneer Press.

VanBurkleo-Carbonara is often joined by other musicians including singers, classical guitarists, flutists and french horn players.

She’s played everything from classical music to patriotic tunes, tangos to Christmas favorites.

VanBurkleo-Carbonara founded Summit Music in 2011 as a music series before expanding it to a music outreach for students, communities and care centers. She said the parking lot concerts hold a special place in her heart.

“Out of all the work that I’ve done in my career, this has been the most meaningful,” VanBurkleo-Carbonara told WCCO.

This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 9:13 AM with the headline "‘Like a godsend.’ Violinist plays parking lot concerts at Minnesota care facilities."