Music is essential to feeling and being human – everybody needs music. It builds community and contributes to a sense of health and well-being. However, the way live music concerts are traditionally offered means they are not always accessible to everyone. This series of sensory-accessible classical music concerts, led by award-winning pianist Jennifer King and Certified Music Therapist, Anna Plaskett, are specifically designed to be welcoming and accessible for autistic, neurodivergent, and intellectually disabled community members and their families, as well as seniors with age-related changes in hearing and vision that can make loud noises and bright lights uncomfortable, or for anyone with underlying conditions that can affect their sensory processing and make traditional concert environments challenging. Jennifer will be joined by a different musician each concert offering a variety of musical experiences. These concerts are open to the public free-of-charge on select Sunday afternoons at the Halifax Central Library's Paul O'Regan Hall.

Noise-reduction headphones will be available for use, as well as an adjacent “quiet room” with sensory manipulatives for audience members who need a break from the concert environment. Lighting in the concert hall will be on at a low level. Those with hyposensitivity to sound are encouraged to come onto the stage floor during the performance, where the volume is louder. Audience members are also invited to move their bodies, and/or vocalize along with the music freely. Silent hand-clapping will be used to applaud the performers after each musical selection. Trained volunteers will assist in facilitating these interactions so that family members and caregivers can relax and enjoy the performances. Parents and caregivers are responsible for those whom they bring at all times, but our hope is that parents/caregivers can sit back, relax, and enjoy the performance, as well as enjoy a social environment where their loved one can enjoy being in an inclusive and sensory-friendly musical space. 

Every donation is an investment in strengthening our community. Your contribution to the Sensory-Accessible Concerts Fund is more than a donation, it helps create a more inclusive community where autistic, neurodivergent, and intellectually disabled community members can enjoy and benefit from phenomenal classical music performances. All donations will receive a tax-deductible charitable gift receipt.