We’ve just finished our 2nd week of the Pilot Program of Eldermusik in two residences in Florida. In the words of Danielle, one of the wellness directors at The Fountains in Melbourne, “people love it. I think it’s going to be wildly successful!”

The four teachers I recruited, Donya Lane, Peilin Ko, Sharon Vohra and Linda Marks are remarkable musicians and teachers. The lessons so clearly fulfill a need that’s there among the residents; and that in turn is satisfying for the teachers.

It’s been surprisingly fun and interesting running a business so far. Challenges of course have arisen, but my wife, Chris Tokar and I have found them manageable, mostly because the energy of the people we’re working with –the staff at the residences, the teachers, lawyers and insurance brokers (!) — has been very positive. People are supportive of the idea and the project and problems are getting solved.

I will be traveling to Florida in July to give a Lecture/Demonstration (part of the package we are offering the facilities). The topic will be “What Makes a Good Song?” and I’ve given this lecture/dem before. I’ll be playing and analyzing songs by Rodgers & Hart, The Beatles, Leonard Bernstein, The Kinks and others. The short answer to the topic question is that a song needs to be both fresh (you haven’t heard that particular musical idea before) and inevitable (it can’t go any other way for it to work) for it to be a truly good song.

That’s the update from Eldermusik central headquarters here in the Bronx. Hope your summer is good. Lee

Why We Need to Pour Creativity Into Elder Care

Next Avenue Influencer in Aging Anne Basting makes the case that the arts are a powerful tool to improve the quality of life of older adults.

In a few weeks, Eldermusik will launch its Pilot Program in two locations in Florida.

Eldermusik came from an idea I had when I was teaching piano to two women at an assisted living facility on the upper west side of Manhattan.

Barbara was developmentally disabled but had learned to read music as a child. She had a Casio keyboard in her room and loved John Lennon.

Eve had a spinet in her room and had studied piano seriously into adulthood. She wanted to study Bach and Scott Joplin.

The lessons were rewarding to them and to me. They looked forward to the weekly one-on-one contact, the concrete goals, mental stimulation and sense of accomplishment.

I started thinking about bringing regular lessons and classes to other senior residences, something nobody else was doing. More and more research shows what I personally experienced: music lessons for seniors are important for mental and physical health.

I wrote a letter to a high school friend I hadn’t seen in over 40 years. Andy Kohlberg is the CEO of Kisco Senior Living, a company that has 22 residences in 8 states across the country. I explained my idea, he liked it, and suggested we meet when he came to New York. That was last August.

On June 12^th, Eldermusik will be starting an 8 week Pilot Program in two of Kisco’s residences in Florida, one in Palm Beach Gardens, the other in Melbourne.

The program will consist of 8 weeks of individual, ½ hour piano lessons given by wonderful local teachers I recruited over the past year. The first lesson will be an assessment, and concrete goals will be set based on what the student wants to accomplish in 8 weeks. At the end of the “semester” there will be a recital for the entire facility.

In addition, Eldermusik will bring two Lecture/Demonstrations to each facility. The topics will be diverse and will be presented by experienced musicians from backgrounds ranging from classical to pop to jazz, from world music to musicology.

The program aims to provide seniors with engagement, concrete goals and stimulating ideas. And it will provide local music teachers and performers with meaningful work.

If the Pilot Program is successful, the goal is to bring Eldermusik to residences across the country.

Wish us luck!