In March, inmates at the Sonoma County jail listened as a live Zoom broadcast from New York City brought the sounds of classical music into the detention facility. But, it wasn't just any music, these were compositions written by the inmates themselves, and a video taken by jail staff and shared with The Press Democrat of one inmate hearing his music being played has resonated with the internet.
This screenshot from a video shows a Sonoma County jail inmate listening as the composition he wrote is played, Monday, March 25, 2024. The video, posted on The Press Democrat's TikTok account, has had more than 1.4 million views in three weeks. (tiktok.com/@pressdemo)
The video, part of a story by staff writer Madison Smalstig and posted on The Press Democrat’s TikTok account April 2, has garnered 1.4 million views and over 1,500 comments on the site, and has been picked up by other websites who call the video “a beautiful sight.”
“It makes you realize that if we gave people more chances, more help, more respect, etc maybe different choices would be made and we’d have more beautiful things in this world,” wrote TikTok user JayNe in a comment on The Press Democrat’s TikTok video, which shows the unnamed inmate listening for two minutes to his composition.
In the video, the composer can be seen smiling, playing along with his fingers, and clapping with the crowd. Throughout the video, he has a look of pride on his face.
The March 25 performance by musicians from Julliard School marked the end of a nine-week program called Music for the Future. The program teaches incarcerated individuals about live music, composition and the life of Ludwig van Beethoven. The goal of the program is to help the inmates gain skills so they don’t return to jail once released, Smalstig wrote.
The program “proved to be one of the most rewarding experiences of their lives,” wrote Meghan Cook for “real good news” website goodgoodgood.co on April 3.
“Unsurprisingly, some inmates got a little teary while listening to their music for the first time. TBH, I got a little teary-eyed writing this one,” wrote Marty Townsend April 13 in an article about the video on inspiremore.com, which shares “good news and positive media happening around the world.”