Rock legend Rick Wakeman has a new audience — a crowd of Vietnamese bears

As part of legendary prog rock band Yes , Rick Wakeman saw some pretty wild gigs in his time — but perhaps none quite as untamed as his most recent concert.

The 77-year-old musician flew out to Vietnam earlier this week for a special performance Thursday in front of more than 150 rescued bear s . Wakeman played the grand piano in an enclosure at a bear sanctuary run by the charity Animals Asia, about 35 miles north of the capital, Hanoi. The animals, many of which have been saved from the country’s bear bile industry, appeared to listen intently as he played to them.

Posting on Facebook about the event, Wakeman said: “We’re here really to celebrate the rescued bears, to celebrate those that have been rehabilitated, rescued, looked after and saved in this wonderful sanctuary. It’s also a reminder that there are still a lot of bears that are in captivity that need to be saved.”

Luong Thai Linh/EPA/Shutterstock

Wakeman performed two new pieces about some of the rescued bears at the event, according to a statement sent to CNN by the charity. He wrote the pieces, entitled “Dawn Reborn” and “Moon,” for rescued moon bears Dawn and Moon.

“I feel immensely honoured to have played here in this beautiful setting to these incredible bears today,” Wakeman, who has been “guardian” to Moon since 2016, said in the statement.

As he played, 11 of the animals gathered closer to listen, according to the charity.

“It is honestly the most extraordinary concert of my life. I was looking at the bears the whole time, I almost forgot what I was playing,” Wakeman said .

“It was like I was in a bubble — just me and the bears. I mean I’ll never in my life get to play a concert to such a well-behaved audience. They were brilliant.”

Nezahat Eve Sevim/Animals Asia

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“There were two bears in particular who came right up to the edge and I deliberately played around with the music a little bit as there were definitely certain things that they reacted to more than others. Obviously, we know music affects humans so I now know it affects bears too.”

Situated in the valley of Tam Dao National Park, the 11-hectare sanctuary is home to around 200 sun and moon bears rescued from the bile industry, according to the charity’s website. The organization also runs another sanctuary in Vietnam, as well as one in Chengdu, China.

Although the practice has been illegal since 2005, bears are still being kept in captivity in Vietnam in order to extract their bile, a gold-colored liquid secreted by the liver, which is then used in traditional medicines. Animals Asia has long campaigned against what it argues is a cruel and unsustainable practice that is being driven by ongoing demand for the bile, gaps in enforcement and “the deeply held belief that bear bile is the most effective medicine for certain health issues.”

Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson described Wakeman’s concert as “magical,” adding: “To see these beautiful bears, who’ve known such pain and suffering, experience music played for them in the most special of settings, was such a privilege. This has been a wonderful celebration of hope and of gratitude to all the bears. But it’s also a heartfelt promise to help the remaining bears who are left behind.”

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She said it was “especially fitting” that one of the pieces was dedicated to Dawn, as music had been a “valuable part of her recovery.”

Robinson added: “She (Dawn) was one of the most broken bears we have ever seen, but thanks to a carefully designed programme of care, including calm, low level music, she is now a beautiful, carefree bear enjoying the safety and peace of our sanctuary.”

作为传奇前卫摇滚乐队 Yes 的一员，里克·韦克曼 (Rick Wakeman) 曾经历过一些非常疯狂的演出——但也许没有哪一场演出能比得上他最近的这场演唱会。

这位77岁的音乐家本周早些时候飞往越南，于周四为150多只获救的熊进行了一场特别演出。韦克曼在亚洲动物基金会运营的熊类保护区内弹奏三角钢琴，该保护区位于首都河内以北约35英里处。这些动物大多是从越南的熊胆产业中获救的，它们似乎全神贯注地聆听着他的演奏。

韦克曼在脸书上发帖谈到此次活动时说：“我们今天聚集在这里，是为了庆祝获救的熊，庆祝那些在这个美好的保护区里得到康复、救助、照顾和拯救的熊。同时，这也提醒我们，仍然有很多熊被圈养，需要被拯救。”

Luong Thai Linh/EPA/Shutterstock

据该慈善机构发给CNN的一份声明称，韦克曼在活动中演奏了两首关于获救熊的新作品。这两首作品分别名为《黎明重生》和《月亮》，是为获救的月熊“黎明”和“月亮”创作的。

“今天能在这美丽的环境中，与这些了不起的熊一起玩耍，我感到无比荣幸，”自 2016 年以来一直担任 Moon 的“守护者”的韦克曼在声明中说道。

据该慈善机构称，当他演奏时，11 只动物围拢过来聆听。

“这真是我一生中最非凡的一场音乐会。我全程都在看熊，差点忘了自己在演奏什么，”韦克曼说道。

“感觉就像置身于一个泡泡里——只有我和熊。我的意思是，我这辈子都不会有机会为这么守规矩的观众演出。他们太棒了。”

Nezahat Eve Sevim/亚洲动物

被囚禁并剖开取胆：解放亚洲养殖熊的斗争

“有两只熊特别靠近悬崖边，我特意稍微调整了一下音乐，因为它们对某些音乐的反应明显比其他音乐更强烈。显然，我们知道音乐会影响人类，现在我知道它对熊也有影响。”

据该慈善机构网站介绍，这座位于三岛国家公园山谷的11公顷保护区收容了约200只从熊胆产业中获救的马来熊和月熊。该机构还在越南和中国成都运营着另一处保护区。

尽管这种做法自2005年起就被禁止，但在越南，人们仍然圈养熊以提取熊胆——一种由肝脏分泌的金黄色液体，用于传统医学。亚洲动物基金会长期以来一直反对这种做法，他们认为这种做法残忍且不可持续，其根源在于对熊胆的持续需求、执法不力以及“人们根深蒂固地认为熊胆是治疗某些疾病最有效的药物”。

亚洲动物基金会创始人吉尔·罗宾逊形容韦克曼的音乐会“充满魔力”，​​并补充道：“看到这些饱经苦难的美丽熊，在如此特别的环境中聆听为它们演奏的音乐，真是莫大的荣幸。这不仅是一场充满希望和感恩的盛会，也是对所有熊的真挚致敬。同时，这也是一份发自内心的承诺，我们将竭尽全力帮助那些幸存下来的熊。”

韩国将停止熊的养殖和胆汁提取。

她说，其中一首曲子献给 Dawn “尤其合适”，因为音乐一直是“她康复过程中不可或缺的一部分”。

罗宾逊补充道：“她（道恩）是我们见过的最受伤的熊之一，但多亏了精心设计的护理计划，包括舒缓的低音量音乐，她现在是一只美丽、无忧无虑的熊，在我们保护区的安全与和平中享受着生活。”