Senior Serenades™

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  3/14/20

Moorestown, NJ:   

The young entertain the young-at-heart!  -- And the show must go on, despite COVID-19!

Fourteen year-old Moorestown resident, Colin DiPasquale, wanted to use his years of piano lessons for good, by entertaining the senior population who otherwise could not venture out for fun.  So he started Senior Serenades,™ a program in which musical teens donate their time and talents entertaining local seniors at assisted living facilities, playing piano and various band instruments.

But now with the latest threat of COVID-19, visitors to senior residences have been restricted, and it seemed inevitable that the scheduled performances would have to be cancelled, including this Saturday's performance at Brandywine Senior Living, in Moorestown, NJ.

Upon receiving Thursday's news of performance cancellation in an email from Brandywine activities director, Rebecca Lentine, DiPasquale responded, "I don't want your residents to be disappointed and miss out on entertainment, especially now."   Then he began working on creating a virtual performance for them.

DiPasquale quickly notified this week's scheduled teen musicians, (which vary weekly), of a change in venue and date.  Fellow freshmen at Moorestown High School, Raghav Akula, on saxophone, and Andy Chang, on violin, would now meet one day earlier, and at DiPasquale's home on Friday, to record a virtual performance for the senior residents.  Once recorded, edited, and uploaded to the internet, they could still meet their Saturday, 2pm performance commitment to Brandywine residents.  Lentine welcomed the idea and assured DiPasquale they would play the video in the facility's movie theater at their originally scheduled time.

The residents of Brandywine enjoyed viewing Senior Serenades not once, but twice by request. 

The virtual version of Senior Serenades was also forwarded to the facilities where they were scheduled to visit over the next month.   

The musicians are now recording from their own homes, safely practicing social distancing while they entertain.  

DiPasquale's plan is to continue recording and editing new videos at his home over the following months, varying songs and volunteer teen musicians, for online viewing, until in-person weekly visitation can resume at the local senior residences. 

Virtual Senior Serenades is now offered free to all senior living residences nationwide, by signing up at www.SeniorSerenades.org.

Click here to view a sample of the virtual performance.