Berklee students serenade Franklin Park Zoo Animals with special concert

BOSTON (WBZ News Radio) — 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 working together for a decade, and the zoo explained that the music is enjoyable 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 a Berklee student.

They were among the students who toured the zoo, playing guitars and drums for a feathered and furry audience.

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

The zoo said you can see some animals reacting to the music, especially the cranes and other birds.

“I’ve seen birds react, and we consider it a positive reaction because we can see stress behavior as opposed to when an animal is excited or playing,” says 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 work with a wide variety of groups in Boston.

Founded in 2014 in partnership with John Linehan, president of Zoo New England, their performances at the zoo seek to highlight how music can stimulate animals’ senses and help them interact with their environment.

The movement has also performed on the oncology floor at Massachusetts General Hospital, served as a guest judge at Boys and Girls Club talent shows, and held workshops for students and staff at the Perkins School for the Blind.

Chaiel Schaffel of WBZ NewsRadio (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.