“On a recent spring morning, Shawna Percival wheels her double stroller onto the stage of Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony,” writes Gemma Alexander in Sunday’s (5/12) Seattle Times. “When she’s ready, the musicians start to play the beginning strains of a lullaby that Percival wrote for her 2-month-old twins. They are recording the song as part of the Lullaby Project, in which parents experiencing homelessness work with Symphony musicians and graduate students from Seattle Pacific University’s music-therapy program to compose lullabies for their children. It’s the sixth year for this collaboration between Seattle Symphony and Mary’s Place, King County’s largest emergency shelter provider for families…. The Lullaby Project began at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2011, pairing parents with professional artists…. Seattle Symphony became one of the program’s first national partners in 2013.” The annual Mother’s Day concert at Benaroya Hall “is just amazing,” says Seattle Symphony piccolo player Zart Dombourian-Eby, who was on Percival’s songwriting team. “It’s so moving. I remember talking to the moms afterwards last [year] and they were really proud of what they had done and really felt a sense of accomplishment. I think we all felt that.”
Posted May 14, 2019
