Comedian/violinist Armando Anto performed for several students and staff members via Zoom.
An event was hosted by Mount Wachusett Community College in collaboration with NECC, with Cami Stephens serving as student/event organizer on Nov. 18.
Found and contracted by MWCC to perform, Anto is a unique type of artist as he simultaneously incorporates both stand-up comedy and playing the violin into his act.
Stephanie Haskell, Student Life Coordinator for NECC shared in an interview that Mount Wachusett contacted Northern Essex, via the organization Community College Student Leadership Association (CCSLA), about potentially collaborating on an event as the pandemic continued. Regarding the agreement of showcasing Anto to NECC as well, Haskell further stated “He [Anto] has a good stage presence; He knows his audience and if I were looking for somebody and knew we had good attendance and the budget to hire somebody, I would’ve definitely chosen him.”
As stated on his website, Anto was born and raised in France, and he began studying classical violin at the French National Conservatory at the age of 5. After earning his Bacholars of Arts degree in Finance, he turned his talent into a business, embarking on a world tour of violin concerts. After performing and teaching his art for over a decade, Anto began implementing more and more comedy in his performances, before eventually combining the two. He “understood that laughing opens the heart and mind, and that people understand any concept better through humor. Following his twin muses, music and comedy, Anto has established himself as a standup comedian in Los Angeles, performing in such prolific venues like Laugh Factory and “America’s Got Talent.”
Throughout the event, Anto discussed various topics such as race relations, which often correlated with his origins, as well as COVID, audience members for some reason having their microphones muted, his ex-girlfriend “Jessica”, to even performing his famous song “”Would You Shut Your Mouth” with his guitar, complete with violin “stings” for either a comedic sound effect or as a clever way of censoring inappropriate language.
Although everybody who joined laughed hysterically, It should be noted that the number of attendees was lower than the “20 or so” expected. This could be attributed to the time of day when the event was scheduled, being late in the afternoon. No matter what the case may be, having the opportunity to laugh and join in with a group was nonetheless exciting and seeing smiling and hearing laughter warmed the heart.
For anyone interested in participating in future events, students can visit the events page at the NECC website for more information.
