People around the world were amazed and uplifted by footage of musicians performing from their balconies during the coronavirus lockdown in March.
No one was even more surprised than Courtney when the video of her performance of “Con te partirò” from her balcony in Rome, shot with her friend’s phone, reached over 12 million views.
But the surprises weren’t over yet: in occasion of the Gran Premio di Monza which took place on 6 September 2020, Formula 1 Official Partner Heineken brought musicians from across Italy together for a unique performance to start the Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken d’Italia 2020.
As part of the brand’s #SocialiseResponsibly campaign, Heineken took a group of musicians whose balcony and rooftop performances went viral during lockdown, to the Grand Prix to reward them for their morale-boosting actions during the pandemic.
Along with Courtney, the musicians included trumpet player Raffaele Kohler, violinist Stefano Camilli as well as tenor Maurizio Marchini, who became famous for his rendition of Nessun Dorma from his balcony in Florence. The group performed the Italian national anthem, Fratelli d’Italia, and were surprised by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who interrupted the performers’ rehearsal.
