"Light in the Well" brings musicians with and without disabilities together

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A unique and powerful concert held Sunday at the Landmark Center in St. Paul brought people with and without disabilities together.

"We had a family member come up with tears, saying that 'I'm just speechless. This is way more than what I expected,'" said organizer and music therapist Yue Wu.

Light in the Well's second annual concert was an event to bring people together.

"A lot of times the people I work with are overlooked by the society," said Wu. "And while everybody is talking about diversity and inclusion and equity, well, disability is left out of the conversation."

The organization, founded by a music therapist, is hoping to make a bigger impact.

"Seeing that they work through their challenges through real-life situations. It's not just a closed therapy room," said Wu.

The concert, in the works before the pandemic, was delayed. Sunday's show, the second of its kind, and the first in the Landmark Center.

"This really fits in really nicely because it is a community that we want to bring into the building and let them know that the building is open to them, too," said Landmark Center Community Programs Director Alicia Wiesneth.

People like Beth, an eight grader who could not leave her home before music therapy. Now, she performs to the crowd.

"You don't know who will come, what kind of situation will come up, what kind of noise you will hear and what triggers the client," said Wu. "But they did it."

The audience joined in on Sunday to sing "You Are My Sunshine" with Beth.

"People without disability, people with disability, we can all share the some experience at the same time in the same space," said Wu.

The concert was free to the public with a reservation. It was part of the Sundays At Landmark series put on by the Landmark Center.