BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The soothing sound of music brings the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra to perform a concert for healing after two months in response to Tops mass shooting.
The concert was held at the Kleinhans Music Hall, and many attended the hour-long free concert Sunday afternoon.
"It's a way to help the community and let them know that we care and we do want to do a concert for a good cause," says Jaman Dunn, Assistant Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
One of the performances that the members of the orchestra performed was Umoja by Valarie Coleman.
Dunn was honored to conduct as well as to be part of the togetherness of the community.
"I'm able to contribute something that is a good cause. I happened to be out of town when that happened, and I live not too far from there, so it still hit home very strongly with me," he says. And I just want to be part of anything that has to let the people know that they are Buffalo, and we are all Buffalo."
Others, such as the Associate Executive Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Jennifer Barbie, hope these performances will lift the spirit of those struggling to heal.
"This is a city of good neighborhoods, and with this terrorist attack that happened," she says. "We need ways to bring our community together to be able to heal and move forward."
Barbie says music is a powerful tool in healing, and these melodies brings unity.
"Music is a shared experience. It doesn't matter," she says. "It's one of those things that it moves you in different ways and meaning for every person, but at the end, it's a shared and communal thing."
The music doesn't stop at the Kleinhans Music Hall, as Jaman Dunn plans to do community outreach for the younger generations.
"I was a public school kid from Chicago that didn't know I could do this for a living. No one was really at my corner," Dunn says. "Nobody doesn't look like me, and I want to make sure that doesn't happen to another kid or anyone in general."
