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Cellist Yo-Yo Ma serenades the newly vaccinated

Yo-Yo Ma has played a series of surprise concerts to help lift spirits during the pandemic.

Yo-Yo Ma has played a series of surprise concerts to help lift spirits during the pandemic. Photo: Twitter

Newly vaccinated Massachusetts residents have been treated to a mini concert, with famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma bringing out his instrument after getting his second coronavirus shot.

A masked-up Ma took a seat along the wall of the observation area on Saturday (local time) at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield and played for about 15 minutes to applause from the other attendees.

The renowned musician, who lives part-time in the area, said he “wanted to give something back”, The Berkshire Eagle quoted Richard Hall of the Berkshire COVID-19 Vaccine Collaborative as saying.

The quick concert came exactly a year after Ma started posting recordings of himself using the hashtag (hash)SongsOfComfort on social media in an effort to ease anxiety throughout the early days of the pandemic.

“I wanted to find a way to continue to share some of the music that gives me comfort,” the cellist wrote on Twitter on March 13, 2020.

Since then, Ma has also played surprise pop-up concerts and live-streamed virtual concerts for essential workers and first-responders.

Massachusetts state Representative William Pignatelli responded to a video posted on social media of the surprise weekend show and praised Ma for bringing people “hope and optimism through his beautiful music”.

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