Music is how we'll get through this

Rebecca Tien and her children, 9-year-old Taran and 6-year-old Calliope, live in Columbus, Ohio. When they heard that an elderly neighbor, Helena Schlam, who lives alone, was self-quarantined and had not left her house for five days, the children offered to play (a concert) on her porch, so she could listen through the window. Helena accepted the offer, and came out on her porch instead.

The children set up their music stands at the far end of the porch and played songs from Suzuki Book One for cello in unison. Helena sat a safe distance away, and contacted her grandchildren in Israel who were also self-quarantined, so they could listen. Then she congratulated her neighbor children for playing "their first international concert." Later, Helena remarked that "music is how we're going to get through this."