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The Friends of Jazz continues to bring the joy and excitement of live music to the sick and elderly in nursing homes, hospitals, children and veteran specialized hospitals and hospice facilities by utilizing their three-piece or four-piece combo, or having their music director perform with his Music Plus One program. The Music Plus One program consists of the music director playing and singing to pre-recorded CDs. Some individuals although willing, are unable to travel outside of their dwellings due to their age, immobility, illness or disability. With Music Plus One, Friends of Jazz performs for smaller audiences, even private performances for patients who are bed-ridden or under hospice care.
The sick and the elderly may be the most underserved people in our society. Dolores Geraldo, Program Director for The Center for Hope Hospice said “The Coloney-Hudson ADC staff, participants and seniors living in the Ann Ferguson Towers were thrilled to have your group The Friends of Jazz perform for us. Many of our members have dementia related illnesses and music is one of the few pleasures that can bring back the past. Music therapy increases their quality of life, and nourishes the heart, body, mind and soul. I saw seniors that are mainly immobile dancing in their seats! One gentleman with a cane seemed to be transformed back to his youth. He danced around the room while your group was entertaining us…your performance truly brings joy and the healing power of music to the underserved audiences.”
Through grants and donations, the Friends of Jazz is able to bring live music at little to no cost to the facilities we visit.
Music has been used in medicine for thousands of years. Ancient Greek philosophers believed that music could heal both the body and the soul. Native Americans have used singing and chanting as part of their healing rituals for centuries. The more formal approach to music therapy began in World War II when US Veterans Administration hospitals began to use music to help treat soldiers suffering from shell shock. In 1944, Michigan State University established the first music therapy degree program in the world.
There are thousands of professional music therapists working in health care settings in the United States today. They serve as part of cancer-management teams in many hospitals and cancer centers, helping to plan and evaluate treatment. Other clinical trials have revealed a reduction in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, insomnia, depression, and anxiety with music therapy. There are no claims music therapy can cure cancer or other diseases, but medical experts do believe it can reduce some symptoms, aid healing, improve physical movement and enrich a patient’s quality of life.
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