The not-for-profit organisation CayMusicA, which supports music and the arts in the community, partnered with Autism Cayman to hold a special concert on Friday, 10 Oct. – World Mental Health Day – for children with autism.
The concert was held at the University College of the Cayman Islands and included internationally acclaimed pianists Tamami Honma and Glen Inanga, CayMusicA’s co-founder and artistic director.
“This was a very special concert,” said Inanga. “CayMusicA has been around for over 21 years, and we are always sharing the joy of music with as many people as we can in different spaces. We have been wanting to partner with Autism Cayman for some time, and with Tamami Honma here to perform in our annual piano festival, it was the perfect opportunity to create this event. We are also pleased that we could hold it on World Mental Health Day.”
Every effort was made to ensure both the location and the musical performances were suitable for people with autism to enjoy.
“We worked together with Autism Cayman to transform the UCCI music room, which is usually filled with steel pans, into a comfortable setting,” said Marius Gaina, executive director of CayMusicA. “We dimmed the lighting and added bean-bag chairs at the front.”
Ally Olarou, secretary and director of Autism Cayman, said: “Normal concert rules did not apply for this event. We encouraged people to step away and move around if they felt moved by the music and even touch the piano. We also arranged for a breakout room to be set up with refreshments if anyone needed to step away.”
Honma, who has appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall and Bolshoi Hall with the Moscow Radio Symphony and is a coach and artist director of the Cal Arte ensemble in California, approached the concert with sensitivity and care. She started by asking the audience what kind of day they were having and whether they wanted to start with a quieter piece or a livelier one.
She played Johann Sebastian Bach, as his work “is a staple of the concert world”, followed by ‘Ondine’ by the French composer Maurice Ravel, and then three pieces by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera.
Inanga then joined her at the piano to play several duets, including movements from a Mozart Sonata, Debussy’s ‘Petite Suite’ and Bizet’s ‘Jeux d’Enfants’. The concert wrapped up with a sing-along to ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ to further engage attendees.
Olarou highlighted that they would like more autism-friendly experiences like this in the Cayman Islands. “The event was a great reflection of how we should be taking care of ourselves, and I’m a great believer in the power of music. Thank you to CayMusicA.”
Inanga said that the event was a blessing and CayMusicA will be planning more events like this in the near future.
For more information, visit the CayMusicA website, email [email protected] or call 922-5550.
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