Music as Medicine Archives - Page 2 of 3

Music and Dance as Medicine
Inspiring! A lovely “Brief But Spectacular” take on dancing into later life – from PBS

"96-year-old Stuart Hodes took his first dance lesson at the Martha Graham school after being discharged from a distinguished stint as an air force aviator in World War II, and he has been dancing through life ever since. He recently wrote a memoir called 'Onstage with Martha Graham.' Here [...]

Susan Troyer2021-06-20T23:54:09-05:00June 20th, 2021|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: Dancing as medicine, Dancing into later years, Former Air Force aviator, Onstage with Martha Graham, Stuart Hodes|0 Comments

Music as Medicine
Good Memories Choir at Fourth Church – Just be musical!

Loved this! Found on the website of my church in Chicago - a performance in the Fourth Presbyterian Church’s Buchanan Chapel. Each Tuesday we are delighted to welcome the Good Memories Choir to Fourth Church for their weekly gatherings. This choral group is—as you will see in this segment from [...]

Susan Troyer2021-05-10T00:26:56-05:00May 9th, 2021|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: Dr. John Torres - Medical Correspondent, Fourth Presbyterian Church’s Buchanan Chapel, Good Memories Choir, Just be musical!, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Slowing cognitive decline|0 Comments

Music as Medicine
The arts are a shadow health service – here’s why

Just imagine for a moment a world robbed of facilities, resources and activities in the creative arts and humanities: no music, no singing, no art, no stories to read or share, no dancing, no theatre, no film, no galleries or museums, no crafts. It should be clear that health and [...]

Susan Troyer2021-03-05T21:10:50-06:00March 5th, 2021|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: Arts, Creative Interdisciplinarity, National Health Service, NHS, Wellbeing health services|0 Comments

Music as Medicine
Morning Has Broken: How Music Creates a Healing Place

This reflection begins in my current location in the central highlands of Mexico. It includes flashbacks to growing up on a large farm in the Midwest – and later returning to be a care partner with my parents. Attempting to tie it together is the focus on music and spirituality [...]

Susan Troyer2021-03-01T00:28:46-06:00February 24th, 2021|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: Alzheimer's, Bill and Gloria Gaither, Cat Stevens, Dementia care partners, Eleanor Farjeon, Martin Luther, Mendelssohn's Lift Thine Eyes, Mexico's haciendas, Morning Has Broken, music as medicine, Psalms 121:1, Randall Thompson's "Peaceable Kingdom", Thomas Carlyle|0 Comments

Music as Medicine
Deep River – my early influence who inspired full circle renditions

As a child drying dishes while Mother washed, I witnessed her singing spirituals while looking into the orchard from the kitchen window. From Mother, I first learned about Marian Anderson for whom she appeared to hold a special “reverence.” She frequently sang from her own spiritual repertoire developed over her [...]

Susan Troyer2021-01-18T17:34:42-06:00January 18th, 2021|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: Deep River, Jessye Norman, Marian Anderson, Spirituals for Solo Singers, The Chicago Symphony, The Lyric Opera of Chicago|0 Comments

Music as Medicine
“Music gives a soul to the universe”

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” (Plato) From my apartment on the 33rd floor, which I dubbed “the perch,” I had a great view of the city. It was a run-walk through the park to the [...]

Susan Troyer2020-12-25T19:55:33-06:00December 25th, 2020|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Finding respite, Fine Arts Theater, Handel's "Messiah"|0 Comments

Music as Medicine
Still Miss Ethel

“A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.” – (author unknown) We liked all kinds of sacred music and Broadway show tunes, but overdosed on Southern gospel, because of its bold, colorful imagery. It fit with our use of metaphors. [...]

Susan Troyer2020-12-24T23:17:55-06:00December 24th, 2020|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: Alzheimer's care partners, Alzheimer's diagnosis, Learning new music, National Institute on Aging|0 Comments

Music as Medicine
Giving Voice Chorus performs “Love Never Forgets”

"The first concert of it's kind in the country, 'Love Never Forgets,' with music and lyrics by Louisa Castner and Victor Zupanc, was commissioned through 'Healing & Hope Through Song,' an American Composers Forum (ACF) residency program for the Giving Voice Chorus, which includes singers with Alzheimers and their care [...]

Susan Troyer2020-12-13T09:36:15-06:00December 13th, 2020|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: "Love Never Forgets", Giving Voice Chorus, Learning new material, Singers with Alzheimer's and their care partners|0 Comments

Music as Medicine
“And the people stayed home” performed by Renee Fleming with music by John Corigliano

Public Domain Feature Photo – By Andreas Praefcke: Renée Fleming und Christian Thielemann, nach einem Konzert in der Philharmonie im Gasteig In case you missed it in earlier social media posts, this music composed during the pandemic is too eloquently performed to miss! Here’s a link to Renee Fleming’s at-home [...]

Susan Troyer2021-11-02T16:25:05-05:00August 30th, 2020|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: "And the people stayed home", Andreas Praefcke, John Corigliano, Kitty O'Meara, Renee Fleming|Comments Off

Music as Medicine
What do an opera company and a hospital have in common?

"As part of her role as Artistic Advisor at Large to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Renée Fleming has spearheaded a collaboration with the National Institutes of Health. The Sound Health initiative, in association with the National Endowment for the Arts, explores and brings attention to [...]

Susan Troyer2020-08-27T10:58:06-05:00August 25th, 2020|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: "And the people stayed home", "Music - health - neuroscience", Center for life and learning at Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, Dementia caregivers, John Corigliano, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Kitty O'Meara, Music for health and wellbeing during COVID-19, Renee Fleming|Comments Off