Violinist Serenades Voters on 84th Street

On Election Day, violinist and Broadway musician @suzyperelman performed near Frank McCourt High School at 145 West 84th Street. The unexpected street concert was seen and documented by @byclaudineko, who sent us this video:

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We spoke to Perelman who tells us she was participating in #playforthevote, a recently formed, non-partisan effort encouraging musicians to perform at local polling sites around the country. The initiative was launched by Boston cellist Mike Block after the first presidential debate.

“I thought, ‘The music is helping me — maybe I should just go down to my polling location and play.’ It became obvious how great it would be if every musician did that,” Block told the Associated Press.

Block told the AP that playing music helped him relieve anxiety after the chaotic first debate, and thought it could help soothe voters waiting in long lines, too.

While Perelman tells us there wasn’t much of a line during her impromptu performance, the crowd still seemed to enjoy hearing her play.

Hundreds of other musicians ended up performing in 39 states throughout the US on Election Day (including the Metropolitan Opera and students from PS 199). Musicians played all genres but avoided political undertones at all costs, according to Block.

 

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Thank you for coming out to #Playforthevote for voters and poll workers!! What joy to play together again on such an important day ?. #democracy #vote #playforthevote

A post shared by Silver Music NYC (@silvermusicnyc) on Nov 3, 2020 at 6:15pm PST