Conductor was stunned when his orchestra refused to respond to him. They then broke into song

Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 13, 2023. It has since been updated.

Birthdays are extremely special days when our loved ones shower us with blessings and love. The luckiest of us often encounter special surprises and this orchestra conductor got one of the best surprises he could have asked for. In a video posted by @quaver.ch on TikTok, the conductor of the All City High School Band can be seen instructing the band to play music. However, in between the set, the band doesn't follow his direction and instead plays "Happy Birthday" to him.

The band conductor was extremely surprised as the whole hall erupted to wish him well. He has a big smile on his face as the choir sings for him and he waits for them to finish. This beautiful video has gathered over 7.7 million views and over a million likes. Several people commented on the grand and beautiful gesture and one person commented, "Just imagine, happy birthday played by a full orchestra accompanied by choir, singing for you." Another person added, "Yannick is so deserving. The best and kindest conductor ever."

A third person added, "I liked the fact .. he kept smiling even though he found out something is not right." Another commented, "I loved watching him hearing them NOT follow him! What the heck? Lol. Surprise!!!" Several others noted that this is a moment he will always remember during his life, "So sweet he’s definitely going to remember this night for sure," noted one TikTok user. 

In another sweet surprise, The Nurse Choir, a group of front-line nurses of Northwell Health decided to cheer up Carly Colvell, a 43-year-old woman with ALS. They dropped by Colvell's driveway and sang her and her family seven songs of hope. It was "magical," according to choir member and director of perioperative services at Plainview Hospital, Winnie Mele. She said, "When we got invited to sing for Carly, I think I can speak for all of us, that was the most emotional gig that we did. Every song we sang had a message of hope. Here's this girl in this wheelchair who feels hopeless, yet every song we sang had to do with hope and things are going to be better and lean on me and don't worry."

Colvell, who also happens to be a former coworker from her time as a marketing assistant at Northwell Health, as well as the rest of her family, was moved by the gesture. Mele said, "I think because we're nurses, whenever we do anything that has to do with the sick or health care it means so much more to us. She's crying, her husband's wiping her tears, the nurses suctioning her trach, the whole thing was so emotional."

She added, "You read her blog posts and I can hear in her voice now that she's losing hope. We had an opportunity to bring her joy. And I think it wasn't all about Carly. It was about Carly's husband. It was about the kids, the nurse, her mom, and her sister. You know, it was just a minute of fun and we tried to make it celebratory."