The North End Music and Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC) has announced the continuation of “The Joy of Music,” a socially distanced concert series, in collaboration with Tresca, every Saturday afternoon from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
NEMPAC joined with Tresca last weekend to bring opera from Ray Bourque’s Table 77 balcony in Boston’s North End. The move to lift spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic follows examples of opera sung from balconies during quarantine in Italy.
The event was met with much enthusiasm from passersby and those who later viewed the recording online. As such, NEMPAC has announced they will continue to perform from the Tresca balcony every Saturday from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. until further notice.
Different performers will be featured each weekend. The singers for Saturday, May 16, are Kelley Hollis, a soprano who has performed recently with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios; and Fred C. VanNess, Jr., a tenor who performs frequently with the Boston Lyric Opera and starred in NEMPAC Opera Project’s first season’s production of “Carmen.”
Kelley Hollis 
Fred C. VanNess Jr.
NEMPAC and Tresca encourage those who listen to continue following safety guidelines by maintaining social distance and wearing masks as mandated in public. Tag @nempacboston and @tresca on either Instagram or Facebook to share this experience of live music for those unable to witness it.
