Four Seasons Arts has been taking some of the artists who perform on their annual concert series to perform concerts at the Alameda County Jail – Santa Rita.

Our belief is that moments of beauty have the potential of enhancing each person individually and thus making our world a better place. We feel that this holds true, whether the audience members are children, students, senior citizens, men or women, people of any race, social or economic strata, living in our communities or in our jails.

The music does more than entertain. As Santa Rita Recreation Director Joseph Smith states, “Your program is a unique presentation. It soothes, relaxes and eases tension. Your program is anticipated by the inmates, and they show much appreciation. It makes them more hopeful, lighter. They ask questions, like ‘Who was that group?’ ‘When are they coming back?’”

Through these experiences of beauty, people can see that unless there was some beauty implicit in them, they could not respond meaningfully to what they’re experiencing.

One inmate put it more simply, “It is something that says that we, too, are still valuable.”