Rick Wakeman, former keyboardist for the band Yes, visited an abused and neglected moon bear sanctuary in Asia and treated them to an hour-long, private concert.
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The 77-year-old musician visited Animal Asia's sanctuary in Vietnam on Sept. 24 and performed for the sheltered moon bears, a heartwarming concert that has been in the works for years.
"Back in 2019, he mentioned that he'd love to perform a recital not just for the bears, but to the bears. We immediately loved the idea and began making plans," Animals Asia's CEO and founder, Dr. Jill Robinson, tells PEOPLE.
"Unfortunately, COVID arrived, followed by Rick needing major surgery, so the project was put on hold. Seven years later, we were finally able to bring his incredible vision to life at our sanctuary in Vietnam. We are so grateful he chose to use his remarkable talent to help our bears through his incredible performance."
Rock Band Member Plays Charity Concert For Bears
Wakeman's audience consisted of 11 moon bears, also known as Asiatic black bears. Not only were the bears tuned in, but several also came closer to Wakeman, only separated by a gated fence.
Wakeman, a longtime supporter of animal welfare causes who owns rescue dogs and cats, organized the concert to raise awareness of moon bears kept in cruel conditions for the extraction of their bile.
"The barbaric treatment these wonderful animals are subjected to, there was no way that I couldn't be involved in any way I could to try and support and help this astonishing charity," Wakeman tells PEOPLE about learning of the plight of bile farm bears in 2016.
Over the last decade, Wakeman visited the sanctuary several times and formed a bond with some of the bears. Eventually, he created four pieces of music as a tribute to the sanctuary's moon bears, performed in September.
"It was unlike any experience I have ever had in my 77 years. I felt as one with the bears. While I was playing, I hardly took my eyes off them. I don't think I looked at the piano keys more than 3 or 4 times throughout the hour I was playing to them," Wakeman said of the concert.
