June 29th was a big day for the World’s Strongest Violinist Evan Pittman, playing the national anthem for an Arizona Diamondbacks – Philadelphia Phillies baseball game, and then performing for patients at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital as a member of the national non-profit “Musicians on Call.”
Evan started his day by playing the national anthem for thousands at Chase Field to kickoff the Diamondbacks-Phillies day game, which started just after lunch. By 5:00 PM, he was at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, ready to go room-to-room playing Disney and popular tunes for child cancer patients as part of the national “Musicians on Call” movement. There, Evan played in 11 patient rooms for a total audience of just over 40 people. Evan was paired with an MOC volunteer escort, Raffaella Braun, who walked around the children’s ward and introduced the young musician at each stop.
“I love playing for the kids at Phoenix Children’s Hospital,” Evan said. “These engagements are really the highlight of my week, and they are very rewarding.” Evan’s next planned performance will be July 4th for Morningstar Assisted Living Facility.
Evan’s Diamondback’s engagement was his third time performing the national anthem on the violin for professional baseball games; he first performed it at age 13 in front of 17,000 fans for a Tampa Bay Rays-Texas Rangers game, and has now performed the anthem twice for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has also performed the anthem for a variety of veterans events.
Evan is the youngest musician playing for “Musicians on Call” in Arizona, and the only violinist.