By Frank Procto
I have recently been made aware of a wonderful Non-profit organization that deserves more attention. Concerts in Care Ontario brings professional musicians into senior’s homes, long term care and assisted living facilities across Ontario, to bring the joy and stimulation of live music to our senior, and often frail population who, now, can’t get to concert venues. Since 2011, Concerts in Care Ontario has provided more than 2,500 concerts, touching over 120,000 seniors in person with an additional 188,000 views of our virtual concerts. These concerts represent more than 5,000 musician engagements. The concerts are 45 to 60 minutes in length, including narrative and storytelling about the music, the musicians, and the instruments. As a volunteer Ambassador for Concerts in Care, I recently attended a performance at Tansley Woods in Burlington where several dozen residents were wheeled in by caring staff. I had the pleasure of introducing Gareth Burgess on guitar and vocals and Kieth Dindayal who is an expert pan vibes player and a respected jazz performer in the Toronto area.
Listening to the songs made famous by Harry Belafonte and others, you could almost imagine being on a beach in Jamaica or Barbados. Before the music started, many of the residents exhibited little signs of being cognizant, and then to watch them come alive, tapping their toes or gently slapping their thighs was an amazing thing to witness! The world of medicine is beginning to embrace the notion that music is a powerful tool for helping us to understand and manage our brains, our emotions and our bodies. Since Concerts in Care is in growth mode they negotiate reasonably with residences because they really want residents to have access to this beautiful music. The musical genre can vary from classical, jazz, The American Songbook, Musicals, Dixieland and other popular repertoire. CIC is your turnkey operation and hire, schedule and prepare the musicians, so all that’s left is for the audience to enjoy the performance. You’re encouraged to gain more insight by going online to search for Concerts in Care Ontario. I’m looking forward to once again play the volunteer Ambassador role on Friday, August 8th at First Place, Hamilton.
