Apr 16, 2020 2 min read

Tess Ann Salzman has been singing since she learned to talk and has turned her talents into a business as a self-employed musician.

On Friday, Salzman will lend her vocal chords to a live, virtual concert to raise money for the family of a friend from Donora, whose father died last week from COVID-19.

“My heart goes out to that family,” said Salzman, 17, a senior at Ringgold High School from Carroll Township.

Salzman said she never took the novel coronavirus too seriously until she received a text from her friend and classmate, Madyline Taquino, 18, on Good Friday.

The text came moments after Devin Taquino, 47, died from the virus in a Pittsburgh hospital. The Taquinos don’t know how the virus got into their home. It also sickened Madyline’s mother and brother, both of whom have since recovered.

Devin Taquino became the first and only death from the virus of a resident of Washington County.

“She still has my back and I have her’s, too,” said Salzman, who uses the stage name Tess Ann when she performs at various locations in the Mon Valley.

She said she will perform two hymns and a Phil Collins song, “Against All Odds,” which is a favorite of Taquino’s widow, Rebecca.

“I’m going to try to knock that out of the park,” said Salzman, who will also play the guitar and a piano during the concert.

She will livestream the concert from 7 to 8 p.m. on her Facebook page, facebook.com/tess.ann.7906, and the video will have a link to a crowdsourcing site for listeners to donate to the Taquino family.

The crowdsourcing site to donate to Devin Taquino’s funeral expenses is: gofundme.com/f/fundraiser-for-devin-taquino039s-funeral-expenses