Residents of Greenwood Assisted Living in San Rafael whooped and hollered and danced in their seats on October 31st to the sounds of the band “Where’s Ringo?”. Consisting of Bruce Wilmott (guitar, lead vocals, bass)  Bruce Friedberg (ukulele, accordion, vocals), Anthony Parber (bass, guitar), and Doug Martin (ukulele, lap steel guitar), the four members are all successful Marin professionals who want to give back to the community. With songs such as “Jambalaya”, “Under the Boardwalk”, “Wichita Lineman”, “Tulsa Time”, “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Stray Cat Strut”, ”Bye Bye Love” and an Elvis medley encore, they were a hit with the residents. A hearty thanks to the members of Where’s Ringo!!

“I heard great things about the event. The residents raved about it. We really, really appreciate your effort to bring music and joy to the residents.”

— Mark Bello, Managing Director, Greenwood Assisted Living

With director Daria conducting, 19  members of the Marin Harmony a capella chorus returned for their second performance at Aegis in Corte Madera on Oct 14. They dazzled with harmonized vocalizations of classics such as “Under the Boardwalk”,  “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’”, “Day Tripper”, “I Can See Clearly Now”, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, and a Beatles medley. Check out their fabulous rendition of the Beatles’ “Because” below! The audience was delighted and wants them back again. Many thanks to all members of Marin Harmony!

“I got wonderful feedback! Residents loved it and I’ve overheard them praising the performance several times. Thank you!”

— Lauren Wandler, Life Enrichment Director, Aegis

Thanks to the talented, generous Marin Sew & Sews quilters LITA volunteers will be getting fidget quilts to share with their buddies who have dementia. It is wonderful to have so many resources and supporters in Marin helping to make people’s days a little better!

BTM music coordinator Rob Thomure returned for a second ukulele class “play along/ sing along” on September 24, 2019 at Bello Gardens in San Anselmo. Besides ukuleles, hand percussion instruments such as shakers and a frame drum were also given out for a rhythm section. Residents sang. strummed and tapped their hand drums to  “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”, “You are My Sunshine”, “What a Wonderful World”, “Keep on the Sunny Side of Life”, “Five Foot Two” and more. Thanks to Bello Gardens Activities Director Shelley Katz for facilitating and being so supportive.

“The residents claim it as the highlight of their month! Thanks for this fabulous music program from LITA! It’s delightful to see (residents) bang away at the drum and the other percussion instruments you provide.”

— Shelley Katz, Activity Director, Bello Gardens

Thanks to a grant from the Parks Department, funded by Measure A, LITA volunteers and residents from Professional Post Acute spent a lovely afternoon at Lagoon Park. There was harmonious music by music volunteers Nowelo and Ned, tasty afternoon snacks and lots of smiles!

“I made a new friend that would like to visit my garden at PPAC. I was really glad to express myself and share conversation about my gardening. The program was great, lots of people, delicious sweet watermelon, friendly dogs, and good music.”

Our most active student musician volunteer, Natalia Betzler, serenaded residents of NeuroRestorative in Fairfax on September 18th. NeuroRestorative serves people of all ages with brain, spinal cord and medically complex injuries. Along with classics such as “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Mamma Mia”,  and “Summertime”, Natalia sang some songs in Spanish for the Spanish-speaking residents. “La Bamba” was a big hit! (click below to hear). Thank you, Natalia!

“It went great! Natalia has a beautiful voice, and it was a real treat for all of us!”

— Chris Francisco, NeuroRestorative

A big thank you for Measure A funding which helped LITA volunteers and residents have a lovely afternoon at the Lagoon Park near the Civic Center. There was lemonade, ice cream, music and dogs! What could be more fun?

With a big bin of ukuleles to pass around, BTM music coordinator Rob Thomure led a ukulele class on July 16, 2019 at Bello Gardens in San Anselmo. The residents worked on their strumming technique and their C chord, and sang and played along to “Puff the Magic Dragon”, “Row Row Your Boat”, “Run through the Jungle”,” Summertime”, “When Irish Eyes are Smiling”, and “You are My Sunshine”. Everyone had a great time. LITA could not be so successful without the partnership of the facility staff. Thank you, Shelley, for your support!

“... we are so happy and grateful to have the LITA music program at Bello Gardens. As you can see from our residents faces, they were lit! Music certainly touches the soul and the brain. ”

— Shelley Katz, Activity Director, Bello Gardens

Thanks to Measure A Funding from the County of Marin Parks Department LITA took some of the Bridging Generations classes into the park this past Spring. The Marin IJ highlighted those trips on its front page Monday, July 15, 2019. Read the full story here.

And the next week the Editorial Board published an opinion that “Having Seniors in Our Parks is a Great Gift”!

A full house of residents turned out to hear the fine harmonies of 8 members of the Marin Harmony Chorus at Creekwood Senior Home on June 28 in Novato. Classic gems such as “Under the Boardwalk”, “Sentimental Journey”, “In the Still of the Night”, “Stand by Me”, “My Girl”, and more were performed. Click below to hear an excerpt from the Do Wop classic “In the Still of the Night”. Many thanks to director Daria and members of the Octet, and to the staff at Creekwood for hosting!

Tam High rising sophomore and veteran LITA music volunteer Natalia Betzler entertained the residents of Greenwood Assisted Living in San Rafael (formerly Harmony House) with her finely- honed vocal and piano talents on Wednesday June 19th. Her repertoire included “Summertime”, “What a Wonderful World”, “Golden Slumbers” by the Beatles, “Sunday Kind of Love”, “Mamma Mia”, and many more classic gems. She was in fine form, and brought smiles and happy reactions as her audience recognized the well-loved, classic songs. Thank you, Natalia!

A Bridging Thru Music volunteer along with BTM music coordinator Rob Thomure led a sing-a-long on June 10, 2019 at Bello Gardens in San Anselmo. With Rob accompanying on ukulele, well-loved standards such as “What a Wonderful World”, “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Meet Me in St, Louis”, “Summertime”, “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” and many more were sung with a full house of residents. Shelley Katz, Bello Garden’s Activity Director commented: “The residents loved the ukulele sing along on Monday. LOVED! When I reminded those residents who do not recall things from one day to the next, I got back positive responses. It does so much to raise their spirits when they get to sing songs they remember”. Thanks to our volunteer, and thanks to Shelley for facilitating and being so supportive!

LITA has now completed two of the six workshops in our Pilot Memory Care Buddies program. The volunteers have been working hard and having a great time! The pilot was developed in response to the growing population of older adults with memory losses to ensure there are community members who can be Buddies for people with dementia.

Thanks to support from a group of employees at Autodesk and Unity in Marin Church, the volunteers are using iPads with music and photo apps on them as well as other interactive programs designed specifically to engage people with memory loss. Future workshops include presentations on the connection between hearing loss and dementia and communication strategies.

In the great outdoors

Students from Saint Raphael’s had lunch and played games in the park with their Buddies from WindChime, thanks to a grant from Marin County Parks Department. Being outdoors is rejuvenating for everyone and sharing a meal is a great way to connect.

They clapped, laughed, sang along, and barked like a dog (ok, so it was a song about an actual dog) as David Maloney brought his songs, stories, guitar, ukulele, and banjo to entertain the residents of Creekwood Senior Home in Novato on Friday, April 19. David, well-known as a performer on the folk festival circuit as well as one half of the duo Reilly and Maloney, sang originals such as his “Finnegan’s Farm”, and “Ridin’ on the Old Rainbow”, as well as old standards such as “Oh Susanna”, “This Land is Your Land”, and “You Are My Sunshine”. Thank you, David, for a wonderful and heartfelt musical interlude!