North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra holds sensory-friendly concert

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI)- The North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra held a very special concert for some very special people this weekend.

The North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra put on its first ever sensory-friendly concert at the Link Center in Tupelo.

It was designed to provide a relaxed environment where people with autism and sensory sensitivities could come with their families.

Brittany Cuevas, the Executive Director of the Autism Center of North Mississippi said this was a great way for families to get out and attend a public event.

“They don’t know what the child with autism might do if it’s too loud, you know sensory overload could happen. And so those families they really need a safe space to go to feel like, you know what, it’s okay if we to get up and move around. We need to run up and down the aisle, and what an incredible opportunity that they have to come today to encounter wonderful music. Just a gift to this community and they can participate and feel comfortable, not isolated. A lot of time these families will be isolated because they have anxiety going out in public because there can be a lot of unknowns,” said Cuevas.

Lisa Martin is Executive Director of the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, who also has an autistic child. She said this weekend’s event was less formal than a typical concert.

“Some of the accommodations we’ve made we’ve shortened the concert from a typical concert. It’s going to be about 30 minutes. The lights will remain at a constant level, a low level. And we’re just taking the volume down slightly taking some of the hard percussion noises out, so it doesn’t frighten children. The musicians know to expect sound from the audience which is something they never experienced before,” said Martin.

“One thing that we teach at the Autism Center we really do a lot of social skills training. And so a lot of times these kids might not really see the point in socializing and developing relationships with their peers,” said Cuevas.

Martin says that is why she is glad the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra could help.

“I personally believe in the power of music. I myself have a 12-year-old son in the autism spectrum. This will be our first concert together as a family. So we know that the need is out there. We know that the need is great. And we really wanted to provide this opportunity to those family who never had that experience before, so we’re really excited,” said Martin.

The North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra’s next concert at the Link Center will be on February 23.