The event dovetailed nicely with the DSO’s sensory-friendly programming.
Nearly 175 people attended JARC’s inaugural Annual Ellen Labes Evening with the Symphony, for a sensory-friendly performance by a sextet of members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO).
The majority of the guests were local people with developmental disabilities, and particularly those with sensory issues, who gathered socially distanced outside on the spacious, covered patio at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield to touch and experience instruments at a DSO instrument petting zoo, enjoy dinner and listen to specially selected sensory-friendly music by a sextet of DSO members.
The setting provided a serene venue for persons with sensory issues who typically could not sit still or would feel overwhelmed in an auditorium setting, but instead allowed guests to come and go as they need. The event dovetailed nicely with the DSO’s sensory-friendly programming, whose effort it is to make music accessible to everyone in a space that is supportive to their individual needs.
The event was named in honor of Ellen Labes to recognize her long-time devotion to the people JARC serves and made possible through a private, generous donation to JARC.
