26 | JULY 7 • 2022 

faces&places

Nearly 175 people attended 
JARC’s inaugural Annual 
Ellen Labes Evening with the 
Symphony, for a sensory-friend-
ly performance by a sextet 
of members of the Detroit 
Symphony Orchestra (DSO). 
The majority of the guests 
were local people with develop-
mental disabilities, and particu-
larly those with sensory issues, 
who gathered socially distanced 
outside on the spacious, covered 
patio at Temple Israel in West 
Bloomfield to touch and expe-
rience instruments at a DSO 
instrument petting zoo, enjoy 
dinner and listen to specially 
selected sensory-friendly music 
by a sextet of DSO members.

The setting provided a serene 
venue for persons with sensory 
issues who typically could not 
sit still or would feel over-
whelmed in an auditorium set-
ting, but instead allowed guests 
to come and go as they need. 
The event dovetailed with 
the DSO’s sensory-friendly pro-
gramming, which is designed 
to make music accessible to 
everyone in a space supportive 
of their individual needs. 
The event was named in 
honor of Ellen Labes to rec-
ognize her longtime devotion 
to the people JARC serves and 
was made possible through a 
private, generous donation to 
JARC. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JARC

Sensory-Friendly Performance

ABOVE: JARC home manager Pam with Jonathan. 
BELOW: JARC persons served, from left, Kathy, Danny, Jonathan, 
Brooke and Julie.

