Concerts 4 Good brings music where it is needed most

It was seeing the joy on people’s faces that resonated with Jane Donnelly and drove her and her husband, Chris Stirling, to start Concerts 4 Good, a Weston-based nonprofit focused on bringing live, professional music to places where it can do the most good.

The pair began forming Concerts 4 Good at the end of 2023, holding a fundraiser in January 2024. Shortly after, Silent Woods Collective agreed to be their fiscal sponsor, Donnelly said. The two organizations have similar missions: Silent Woods brings classical music to rural areas, and Concerts 4 Good brings professional musicians to hospitals, centers for disabled people, schools for children with special needs, human service organizations, veterans hospitals and the like.

“We try to go where we are needed most but maybe where people don’t go all the time,” Donnelly said.

On Oct. 29, Concerts 4 Good is hosting its annual gala at the Weston Country Club. Their budget is based on the amount of money they are able to fundraise, Donnelly said.

“If we raise $50,000, then we budget accordingly. Our expenses are mainly paying musicians and the fundraiser itself. So far, we don’t have a lot of money in the bank, but we are doing OK. We don’t pay ourselves anything. Everyone is doing this because they have good hearts. And I would argue [the musicians] are not getting paid what they are worth,” Donnelly said.

Although she is not a musician herself, Donnelly said in 2009 she organized an annual Christmas caroling concert, bringing musicians from her church to Bay Cove Human Services in Boston.

“I used to come home and think, ‘wow.’ You just saw the joy we would bring to these people,” she said. “That spurred me to start [Concerts 4 Good], almost three years ago.”

She was also motivated by her brother, William Donnelly. In 2018, a severe spinal cord injury left him paralyzed and Donnelly and Stirling tried to help with his care. Because he spent a lot of time at Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Charlestown and Brighton, they decided to hire musicians to perform there.

“I just saw the joy that that brought to these patients. It was really quite amazing,” Donnelly said. “We put these shows on, not just for the patients but for all the caregivers. Whoever works in these facilities deserves a lot of credit.”

To date, they have hosted about 24 concerts.

One of the biggest challenges is finding places to go, and Donnelly said she spends a significant amount of time convincing organizations to let musicians perform.

“I’m always looking for new places because we want to spread the joy,” Donnelly said.

If they can’t find a new place to perform, they will return to a familiar one.

They continue to host a yearly Christmas show at Bay Cove Human Services, and like last year, will go across the street to the oncology unit at Boston Medical Center, Stirling said.

“People would come out of their rooms with their IV bags. That was a highlight,” Donnelly said.

Other memorable appearances include the Cotting School in Lexington and Crystal Springs School in Assonet, both schools for children with special needs.

“[The children] really responded to the music. They were up dancing, surrounding musicians. They want to reach out and shake hands. That was special too,” said Stirling.

Volunteers help with the gala and pitch in when needed, but Donnelly said Concerts 4 Good would not exist without Stirling. She noted he takes care of most of the administrative work and manages the website. Donnelly deals with the musicians and finding venues.

“We both deal with a lot. We’re retired so we can do that,” she said.

Like Donnelly and Stirling, the majority of the volunteers live in Weston. Many of the musicians are connected to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Stirling said. He hopes to “expand the number of performers, so we can do different kinds of music depending on where we go.”

They are both hoping to expand the number of places to perform, and Donnelly encourages people to contact them with suggestions.

“It’s been a nice journey. We just started it not knowing where we were going to go. It’s been very positive. I got tapped on the shoulder to do this – a little guardian angel tapped [me] on the shoulder and said I need to do this,” Donnelly said.

If you go

WHAT Concerts 4 Good Gala

WHEN 5:30 to WHEN 9:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 29

WHERE Weston Golf Club, 275 Meadowbrook Road, Weston

TICKETS $150

DETAILS Silent auction, music, food, drinks (cash bar only), and dancing. Costumes are

encouraged but not required. Denim is not allowed per the golf club rules.

INFO c-4g.org/