NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A powerful video made by a music student in Brooklyn is generating emotion and comfort in these dark and uncertain times.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Harrison Sheckler pulled together 300 performers in 15 countries to collaborate in a virtual rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "Carousel."
"It gives them a distraction from their worries," Sheckler told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "People were submitting from Israel, Vietnam, South Africa, Germany."
The seeds for the project were planted in Iowa after the 24-year-old pianist left for home when the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music closed.
"I was trying to think, 'What could I do from the safety of my own home that I could collaborate with others?'" he said.
Each performer played an instrument or sang along with Sheckler on the piano.
"I'm just amazed at the response," Sheckler said. "This has turned into such a message of hope and peace."
The video has touched a chord, generating more than 200,000 views on YouTube in a week.
"I think we're going through something similuar — tough times, difficult times," he said, adding that he's heard from over 1,000 people. "It reminded them that they are not alone."