Berklee Students Serenade Franklin Park Zoo Animals With Special Concert

BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Franklin Park Zoo hosted student musicians from the Berklee College of Music to play for the animals on Sunday afternoon.

Berklee and Franklin Park Zoo have been collaborating for a decade, and the zoo explained that the music is pleasant for the guests, fun for the musicians, and enriching for the animals — at least, for some of them.

“It depends on the animal, I think. The donkeys just stare at us. And the gorillas left. But whether that [means] they like it or not, I think they can kind of understand the emotion behind it,” said one Berklee student.

They were one of the students traveling around the zoo, playing guitars and drums for a feathery and furry audience.

And the music was also for the benefit of the humans listening in, said the zoo.

The zoo said some of the animals can be seen reacting to the music, especially the cranes and other birds.

“I’ve seen birds react, and we take it as a favorable reaction because we can kind of tell stress behavior as opposed to when an animal is excited or playing," said Curator John Piazza.

The Berklee musician group is called The Movement, a student-led program that “uses performance as a catalyst for community building and social change” through volunteer programs that collaborate with a wide variety of groups around Boston.

It was founded in 2014 in partnership with Zoo New England President John Linehan, and their performances at the zoo try to highlight how music can stimulate animals’ senses and help them engage with their surroundings.

The Movement has also given performances on the oncology floor at Massachusetts General Hospital, been guest judges at Boys and Girls Club talent shows, and held workshops for students and staff at Perkins School for the Blind.

WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.

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