Statements
Mission
Music for Seniors connects area musicians with older adults through live and interactive music programs designed to engage, entertain and educate seniors - promoting health and wellbeing, reducing isolation and enriching the lives of all participants.
Background
In 2007, Music for Seniors was founded by Sarah Martin McConnell, Inspired by her mother, Marguerite Martin, who was blown to Nashville by Hurricane Katrina at age 84 and just 6 weeks after receiving a diagnosis of mid-stage Alzheimer's. McConnell began facilitating monthly sing-alongs for seniors at FiftyForward and witnessed transformational behavior, with the seniors "lighting up" - recalling lyrics and actively engaging in joyful music activity. So, McConnell designed and launched Music for Seniors - first as a FiftyForward arts affiliate - to connect area musicians with older adults through interactive live music programs.
In 2014, Music for Seniors began operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
In 2017, Music for Seniors developed its Live Performance Learning Labs programs, incorporating a crucial educational component into the organization's programming through multi-week series of group instruction.
In 2018, Sarah received a prestigious WeWork Creator Award to seed the organization's expansion into East Tennessee.
In 2019 and 2020, the COVID pandemic forced us to adapt our live music programs to maintain their engaging and interactive feel while being delivered virtually via YouTube. We were able at points during the pandemic to offer outside "courtyard concerts" as well.
In 2021 and now into 2022, as barriers to in-person programs were lifted, we have seen a surge in demand for our live music programming, exceeding pre-pandemic volumes.
In 2022, we developed a strategic plan and a succession plan at the Board and staff level to prepare for our founder, Sarah Martin McConnell, to pursue her next professional dream. With Lucia Folk, Board Chair experienced in founder transitions, and Rob Jack as Interim Executive Director, we focused on stability and continuity through this transition and the planned search for a permanent Executive Director.
In 2023, we added Natalie Thomas as Director of Development and Community Engagement to strengthen our community connectivity and diversify and grow our funding sources - expanding our reach and impact and ensuring the long-term sustainability of our programming.
Liz Kelly accepted the role of Executive Director in July of 2024 and is uniquely qualified to lead Music for Seniors into the next season of growth and impact.
Impact
We currently serve older adults in 11 counties throughout Middle & East Tennessee including Blount, Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Knox, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, Wilson.
In FY23 (July 2022 - June 2023), we delivered 1,533 live music programs to 42,662 older adults and youth facilitated by 91 talented Musician Partners.
In FY24 (July 2023 - June 2024) we delivered 1,722 live music programs to 49,320 participants facilitated by over 100 talented Musician Partners.
We continue producing a minimum of 20 concerts annually as part of our FREE Daytime Concert Series - 10 in Middle Tennessee and 10 in East Tennessee with public audiences ranging from 70-290 participants.
We also continue to conduct Learning Labs (5-6 weeks in duration) and one-day musical workshops to engage older adults, reducing isolation and stimulating the brain.
Our intergenerational programming continues to grow, bringing older adults and school-aged youth together for musical and music learning events.
Our Fall 2022 Community Partner Survey highlighted our impact in the following areas:
>95% gave us a positive rating for Music for Seniors in Engaging with Seniors, Quality of Music, Ease of Scheduling, Dependability and Affordability
98% reported elevation of participants' mood during our programs
93% reported a noticeable increase in engagement and active participation during our programs
63% reported that participant engagement lasts an hour or more after our programs
70% reported that elevated mood and positive affect lasts an hour or more after our programs
Demographic data reported from our Community Partners on their senior populations (85% of those surveyed were willing/able to provide this data).
Race/ethnicity: 80% White, 15% Black/African American, 2% Hispanic/Latino, 2% Asian
Senior Veterans: 16%
Seniors with 1 Disability: 51%
Seniors with 2 or More Disabilities: 41%
Seniors below the poverty line / Medicaid recipients: 22%
Our mission is focused on serving older adults through curated and engaging live music programs - and the magic of our live music programs is that they are designed to connect people to one another and build community between them: between senior participants, with seniors and our Musician Partners, and more broadly with their caregivers, their friends and their families who are present. In fact, a majority of our Musician Partners are seniors themselves, sharing their talents and their compassion, and, in turn, also experiencing the same positive benefits as the senior participants they are serving.
Our goals this fiscal year are:
- Expand our network more fully across Tennessee through partnerships with county Trustee offices, East TN State University, AARP, GNRC and others.
- Strengthen our program reach and impact by building organizational capacity, growing our Musician Partner network and expanding the number of Community Partners we serve.
- Strengthen our storytelling ability, by showcasing through a variety of media the transformative power of our live music programming and the impact it has on the older adults we serve and the musicians who partner with us.
- Optimize and invest in automation capabilities for our technology platforms, including Salesforce, which will allow us to deliver more programming without adding staff and will allow us to focus our energies toward more meaningful outcomes through the work we do.
- Define ways to evolve our Outreach programs around outcome-based interventions, including partnering with academic and higher education institutions to harness existing research and develop qualitative and quantitative research projects in collaboration with them.
- Diversify and expand our strategic funding relationships (grants/sponsorships) and unrestricted funding sources so that we can grow our reach and impact more significantly.
Needs
Funding to Support Programming for Under-served Constituents
1) Strengthen our program reach and impact so that we can sustain and continue to respond to requests for programming for communities that cannot pay the program fees
Musician Partner Recruiting & Support
1) Grow our Musician Partner network so that we can offer more programming to seniors in Middle and East Tennessee, while looking to expand our footprint into other geographies
2) Partner with experts like the Alzheimer's Association to provide enhanced training for Musician Partners
Collaboration to Expand Types of Outreach and Other Live Music Programs
1) Connect more fully to the older adult communities we serve and devise additional program opportunities that will meet their needs
2) Celebrate the diversity of older adults in our area by working more closely with under-served communities and by imagining ways for Music for Seniors to develop and deliver live music programs that engage, entertain and educate specific to their needs
CEO Statement
I am supremely blessed to bring my professional experience and personal passion for music to support and grow the incredible work of Music for Seniors. Throughout my life I've seen firsthand how music brings joy, helps calm agitation, and stimulates memories for older adults and those who are dealing with neurological disorders like Alzheimer's and dementia, and I am excited to see our impact grow!
As I spend time visiting with our Community Partners and getting to know our Musician Partners I am amazed at the level of care and expertise to which we have access. From Community Partners (largely assisted living, nursing & memory care residences) who are dedicated to enriching the lives of their residents to Musician Partners whose compassion and attentive presence combine to provide powerful and effective programming, the Music for Seniors community is dedicated to bringing joy, reducing isolation, and stimulating memory and interaction through providing quality live and interactive music programming.
Though our concerts and learning labs are the most shared and best known of our programming, over 80% of our programming takes place in private spaces like nursing homes, assisted living, and memory care residences and day programs. This is the heart of our work, and where the true impact happens.
My father was diagnosed with early-onset dementia in the late 1990's and as the disease attacked his brain, music was the only thing that could calm the agitation that he dealt with every day. I am deeply passionate about growing this work and developing a community of individual donors who want to help make this programming available to the new communities who are requesting our services every day.
Service Categories |
|
| Primary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Music |
| Secondary Category: | Human Services - Senior Centers/Services |
| Tertiary Category: | Public & Societal Benefit - Citizen Participation |
Areas Served
Middle Tennessee counties: Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, Wilson
East Tennessee counties: Knox and Blount
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Other |
