Ohio orchestra performs at prison to bring ‘hope and peace’: ‘Meaningful work’ [Video]

Fifty members of an Ohio orchestra recently performed a “Patriotic Pops” program for an unexpected audience: inmates at a local prison. 

The performance of June 30 was actually several years in the making, Elizabeth Brown-Ellis, executive director of the Lima Symphony Orchestra, told Fox News Digital in an email. 

“The Lima Symphony Orchestra began our Healing Through Music program in 2018,” she said. “The original goal was to bring the healing power of music to people struggling with addiction and mental health.“

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The June 30 performance marked the first time a full orchestra was permitted to perform at an Ohio prison, and possibly the first time anywhere in the U.S., Brown-Ellis said. 

The orchestra originally played at area hospitals and shelters. It is based in Lima, Ohio. 

Shortly after the Healing Through Music program began, a chaplainat the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution (AOCI) contacted …