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OUR MISSION IS SIMPLE

Music for Seniors connects area musicians with older adults through live and interactive music programs designed to engage, entertain and educate seniors – promoting health and wellbeing, reducing isolation and enriching the lives of all participants.

OUR PROGRAMS
BRING COMMUNITIES TOGETHER

We work with our Community Partners to share live music programs with older adults in the communities where they live. Working with our talented and compassionate Musician Partners, we tailor all our programs to meet the needs of all older adults: from those living independently, to groups of seniors in day programs, to those in residential assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care communities.

OUR IMPACT IS MAGICAL

We harness the power of live music to deliver programs designed to improve the mental health and wellbeing, and enrich the lives of all of our program participants. This, in turn, strengthens their sense of belonging in the communities where they live.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN MIDDLE TN

February 20th – March 26th
FREE 6-wk Beginner Ukulele Learning Lab with Teaching Artist, Todd Elgin


From 2:00-3:15 pm each Tuesday

Location: St. Claire Senior Center, 325 Saint Clair St, Murfreesboro


March 19th – April 23rd
FREE 6-wk Beginner Harmonica Learning Lab with Teaching Artist, Bronson Herrmuth


From 9:30-10:45 am each Tuesday

Location: The Temple, 5015 Harding Pike, Nashville, TN 37205


Craig Duncan and Friends

SOLD OUT – March 27th
FREE Daytime Concert with Craig Duncan and Friends


From 1:00-2:00pm

Location: FiftyForward: Martin Center, 960 Heritage Way Brentwood, TN 37027


April 3rd – May 8th
FREE 6-wk Beginner Ukulele Learning Lab with Teaching Artist, Donna Frost


From 11:00 am – 12:15 pm each Wednesday

Location: Senior Renaissance Center, 4805 Park Ave, Nashville, TN 37209


April 19th
FREE Daytime Concert with Nashville Jazz Workshop: The Life and Music of George Gershwin


From 1:00-2:00 pm

Location: Nashville Jazz Workshop, 1012 Buchanan St, Nashville, TN 37208


May 17th
FREE Daytime Concert with The Dream Catchers


From 2:00-3:00 pm

Location: The Larry Keeton Theatre, 108 Donelson Pike, Nashville, TN 37214


WE ACHIEVE OUR MISSION THROUGH THREE DISTINCT LIVE MUSIC PROGRAMS

OUTREACH

Outreach

Area Musician Partners facilitate curated one-hour programs to senior groups in recreational and care settings.

FREE DAYTIME CONCERTS

Free Daytime Concerts

Local artists of distinction perform monthly concerts at at a variety of interesting and accessible venues.

LIVE PERFORMANCE LEARNING LABS

Live Performance Learning Labs

Local Teaching Artists lead group instruction in instrument performance and songwriting.

Music for Seniors Program Overview

based on our Programs January through December 2023

Music for Seniors Program Impact

based on Community Partner survey feedback in August 2022

Benefits for Seniors

Connects all participants – Reduces isolation – Elevates mood and engagement – Promotes health and wellbeing – Enriches lives

What Others Say

Thank you for arranging all of these senior concert events. Great! Convenient and ample parking. How about some Reggae or ’50s Rock and Roll?

Anonymous Concert Audience Participant

These young people were fabulous!! Please do this again!!

Anonymous Concert Audience Participant

Music for Seniors is terrific. We look forward to Wednesdays. The seniors might come in down and depressed, but their mood changes right away with music and they stay in a good mood for several hours afterwards.

Jeff, Senior Center Activity Director

The seniors like the variety of music and they sing along to songs they remember. The musicians are always prompt and polite.  The seniors’ favorite day is when Music for Seniors comes.

Joyce, Activity Director

After the music was over the musician went to each of our residents to speak to them personally. One resident told the musician her first and last name. This resident has never done that before! Our staff has been talking about how music can make such a difference.

Sheryl, Executive Director

Your musicians were awesome!!! The seniors were up and dancing. Singing and clapping. There are no words to express how much it meant – particularly today. We lost a leader in this group and his funeral was last night. I was somewhat anxious about the mood of the group today, but the performers turned our sorrow into a celebration. 

Tina, Senior Coordinator

Our Commitment to Creative Aging and Inclusivity

Music for Seniors is a vibrant participant in the creative aging movement. We celebrate every individual’s ability to be active in the arts generally, regardless of their age or physical or cognitive abilities. Specifically, we champion every older adult’s right to have access to and participate in the very best entertaining, engaging and educational live music programming that the musicians in their city, town or community have to offer.

In addition to the sheer joy of it, creative expression and creative learning promote health benefits related to the resulting increase in social engagement that comes from this participation – along with a sense of individual independence and accomplishment. We have witnessed, first-hand, the satisfaction and self-confidence that results from learning to play songs on the ukulele or harmonica. For an older adult in a wheelchair we have seen the simple act of keeping time by tapping a rhythm stick as part of an improvised group music making experience inspire a sense of belonging and achievement. When so much has been lost, this simple activity fosters the feeling that, “Yes, I can do this, and I am an integral part of this group making music together!”

Engagement in music making activity, specifically, (along with speaking two languages) is at the “top of the brain gain food chain” when it comes to enhancing neurological functioning. (This makes sense, since music is like another language.) Moreover, because of how the aging brain processes sound, this is particularly so for older adults.

Music for Seniors is committed, as well, to making it easy and rewarding for local musicians to be part of this effort to bring the best music possible to their own community’s seniors. Our Musician Partners share their time, and their gifts and talents as significant civic involvement and we offer them per-program stipends for this important community service. Their dedication helps ensure that older adults’ lives are enriched in this way.

Music for Seniors is an anti-racist organization. We are committed to the fair and equitable treatment and protection of all program participants and all beneficiaries of our services. We welcome individuals of every race, ethnicity, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, and atall levels of physical and cognitive abilities.

Our Generous Supporters & Community Partners