Greetings! Over the last (5) years I have been hard at work developing a presentation and performance series for active adults 55 and older and another series for the elderly and dementia/Alzheimer’s patients living in healthcare facilities.
I am now seeking to take what I see as a music therapy mission on the road. My presentation series has proven to be a way for older Americans to plug into fond memories and more importantly for dementia and Alzheimer’s patients to re-connect with their long-term memories.
The results have been emotionally charged break-through moments with participants experiencing great joy manifested in tears of joy, physical movement and activity after long catatonic periods, and overall pleasure and appreciation for having been provided with opportunities to relive their youth.
An integral part of what touches my audiences/students is when I sing the music of the Great American Songbook. People have said I sound a bit like Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole and country greats like Johnny Cash, Ray Price and Eddy Arnold. I also interpret Mexican music from the gold age of entertainment in Mexico. I have found that the chart topping songs of the Great American Songbook truly is a life soundtrack for this generation….connected to key moments like their courtship, marriage, the birth of children and WWII and other significant milestones in a life that is now in its twilight.
My presentations and performance began in 2007 after my dad’s death (he was preceeded in death by my mom in 2004). I started at the nursing home where my mom had lived and initially decided to conduct my “music therapy sessions” as a ministry.
It is now my desire to develop a non-profit that can underwrite my production and travelling costs so that I can touch the lives of more people.
Not only do we need to continue to preserve and recognize the great singers and performers of the 20th Century…BUT more importantly we must honor and show our gratititude to the members of the Greatest Generation while there is still time. It is these individuals who made this country Great!
I am looking for supporters, partners, media producers and operators of healthcare facilities and retirement communities to spread the word of my efforts so that I can truly take the show on the road.
Please join me in a mission, a ministry, that has the potential to change and improve the lives of our senior adults.