Like umpteen other singers and musicians, Australian bass-baritone Adrian Tamburini lost all his live music engagements for the year virtually overnight as the coronavirus pandemic hit. So when Inventi Ensemble – a classical chamber ensemble based in Melbourne – asked if he’d like to take part in some Zoom performances live streamed into nursing homes, he leapt at the opportunity.

Not only has he loved the opportunity to perform again, but the heart-warming response has been “amazing”, says Tamburini. “I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. Being online, I thought that there may have been resistance from the residents of the homes, but they were so warm and appreciative of the music and our performances.”

Adrian Tamburini performs in an Inventi Ensemble concert via Zoom for a Melbourne aged care home

Performing for residents in aged care has been a core part of Inventi Ensemble’s work for several years now. “We’ve often included it in our touring of different programs when we were able to do it live. We even took a chamber orchestra around various centres in Victoria a few years ago,” says oboist Ben Opie, Inventi’s co-Artistic Director with flautist...