August 29, 2022
From Session Leader Beth DeMichele: We shared a glorious afternoon with the Sunrise Assisted Living community on Friday. While the day started with rain and clouds, warmth and joy were felt all around.
Even before the music began, you could feel the sense of community from everyone in the building from staff to caregivers to residents, and it was a true honor for me and my fellow singers to feel embraced as part of that community. And our audience was so full, we had to adjust the furniture in the room to fit everyone.
Our accompanist Christopher gave us some pre-show music on Sunrise's absolutely lovely Steinway grand piano. Singers Molly, Susan, and I brought favorite tunes like “A Cockeyed Optimist,” “A Lovely Night,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Vanilla Ice Cream,” (a hilarious parody of) “Memory,”“Journey to the Past,” and “(You Gotta Have) Heart.”
With each song Molly or Susan brought up, I said to myself "Oh, this is one of my favorites!" And many of the songs had a few residents singing along. Afterward, we got to chat with a few residents, (and some got to share memories of New York City baseball games thanks to Susan's “Damn Yankees” tune).
By the end of our concert, sunshine was pouring through the windows! I always love to see the residents’ spirits lift, but I'm always surprised and delighted by how much they lift my spirits during these sessions.
Accompanied by: Christopher Zander