A Musical Year with Our Seniors - 7/27/2025 Senior Center Performance
- skribblestudioz
- Aug 2
- 5 min read
Authored by Elena Chen
Today marked our twelfth performance at this senior center as Infinity Lab — exactly one year since our very first visit. A true anniversary celebration! With so many talented performers on board, we had about an hour of wonderful performances planned.
The first performance of the day was extra special. Since it was July, Chloe Wong opened the show by playing the U.S. National Anthem on the cello. Rien, as the host of the day, took the opportunity to thank everyone at the senior center who had contributed to this country, especially those who served in the U.S. military. Among them was Mary, a 100-year-old resident who had just celebrated her birthday last month. She returned to the stage to collaborate with Chloe. While Chloe played the cello, Mary sang. Even though they had only practiced for a few minutes before the show began, Mary quickly caught on, and the two performed beautifully together.
All of our student performers stood and sang along, and many seniors in the audience joined in. It felt like a performance from everyone — a truly special moment.
Afterward, Chloe continued with another piece: Concertino No.1 by J.-B. Bréval. Once again, she played wonderfully!
Next, Rien Chen performed Take Me Home, Country Roads on the piano — but not the original version. The arrangement he chose was by Makiko Hirohashi and had a dreamy, Studio Ghibli-like quality. Rien had learned the piece on his own because it’s such a beloved classic. The seniors really enjoyed it — I even noticed Mary quietly singing along in her seat.
Following Rien’s performance, Shiang played Flute Concerto in D Minor by C.P.E. Bach. The flute sounded elegant and expressive, and the seniors applauded enthusiastically when he finished.
For our third performance, we welcomed guest performer Chenxi Du, who danced Huamei, imitating the graceful movements of the Chinese hwamei bird. Although she was the youngest performer of the day, her skills were incredibly impressive! Her fundamentals were solid, and she executed movements that clearly required years of training. In addition to her technique, her dance was light, lively, and expressive. Her facial expressions were vivid and full of charm — what a beautiful performance! Everyone, including the seniors, was visibly amazed.
After Chenxi, I performed Strangers by Kenya Grace on the piano. It’s one of my favorite songs, so I was happy to have the chance to share it. The audience seemed to enjoy it too.
Next up was Helen Wang, a new member, performing the second movement of Cello Concerto in E Minor by Edward Elgar. Her playing was elegant and flawless! Altogether, we had three cellists perform that day — all of them played from memory, and each performance was both technically excellent and deeply memorable.
After Helen, Apollo Cai performed the first movement of Violin Concerto No. 7 by Charles-Auguste de Bériot. His playing was full of emotion as well as technique — his violin truly sang, and it was clear to everyone how talented he is.
Following Apollo, Grace Ma played Unsullied by Jian HongYi on the guzheng. This is a beautiful classical Chinese piece. Grace played with her usual grace and precision, and the unique sound of the guzheng drew a lot of attention. I even noticed some seniors from the floor above listening in! When she finished, the applause was loud and heartfelt.
Last but certainly not least, we welcomed Max Tao to the stage. Max is now a college freshman, but during high school, he frequently performed for seniors at other facilities and was even invited to perform at Carnegie Hall.
Max performed three pieces on the cello. The first was The Swan by Saint-Saëns — a peaceful piece that I’ve also performed on the piano. The cello version had its own beauty and depth. The second was More Than Love by Yoo Young Seok, a touching song from a Korean drama. Max played it with such emotion that it moved the audience deeply — one person even cried. For his final piece, he played Moses Fantasy by Paganini. Before performing, he explained that the entire piece would be played on just one string of the cello. Despite the restriction, his performance was outstanding — and had he not told us, none of us would’ve noticed! His talent left a lasting impression on everyone.
Before transitioning to the game portion of our event, we asked if anyone had a birthday in July. Two seniors did, so we all sang “Happy Birthday” to them together. The audience clapped and joined in joyfully.
All the student performers then took a bow to show their respect and gratitude to the audience. It was truly a great show!
After the performance, some seniors came up to speak with us, including Anda and Mary, to express how much they enjoyed the music. Anda told us she had learned piano as a child. Mary shared how happy she was to see us and how much she enjoys being around young people who bring music and joy to her life.
We then moved on to the game portion of the event. Some of us stayed upstairs to help rearrange the main lobby, while the rest headed downstairs. Once the upstairs group finished, they joined us. This time, we didn’t play games — instead, we hosted the Bingo Shop.
As explained in previous blog posts, seniors earn “Bingo Bucks” by playing Bingo. Every other month, a special “store” is set up in the activity room, where they can spend their bucks on items like soap, lip balm, bags, snacks, and more. There were plenty of choices — some practical, some just for fun.
The seniors came in one by one to shop. We introduced the items and helped them choose. Most picked snacks.
Mary selected several items and had 20 Bingo Bucks left. She came back to try to spend the rest but found nothing priced under 20 bucks, so we suggested she save it for next time. Her curiosity and energy must be part of the secret to staying so young!
While others were still shopping, I saw one lady happily enjoying some candy she had just purchased — her joy was so heartwarming.
As we wrapped up and headed back upstairs, we all felt relaxed and fulfilled from the experience. I hope our next visit goes just as smoothly and meaningfully!
Performers: Apollo Cai, Elena Chen, Rien Chen, Shiang Hwu, Grace Ma, Helen Wang, Chloe Wong Guest Performers: Chenxi Du, Max Tao Game Hosts: Elena Chen, Rien Chen, Shiang Hwu, Grace Ma, Alice Ouyang, Tristan Shi, Helen Wang, Chloe Wong
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