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I bring many years of professional experience to my work. In my daily healthcare facility
visits, I play guitar, violin, piano and sing a large variety of standards, showtunes, familiar sing-a longs, ethnic music
of many kinds and a great number of pieces from the classical repertoire.
My approach to both
short-term rehab patients and longer term nursing home or assisted living facilty residents is casual and intimate
with lots of improvisation and humor, nostalgia and general banter. I often play music trivia games with the group in
an attempt to jog the individual and collective memory banks. There is always an emphasis on projecting a positive stance
in front of the audience. I generally attempt to get close enough to each individual to make a connection
that positively affects each person's daily experience. During rehab-oriented room visits, I try to get
patients to describe their musical experiences or musical memories of family members, or simply encourage the associations
that the musical interlude brings.
Reactionary behavior on the part of individuals is generously tolerated
or incorporated into the ongoing and evolving framework of the show or room visit. I try to make
close eye contact in order to let each member of my audience or rehab patient know there's a real experience going
on. I attempt to stimulate each individual with soothing auditory stimuli, sometimes directing tones, harmonics
or parts of tunes to them alone, especially the hearing or vision impaired. Non-sensical and non-linear statements are
treated with absolute credibility, anger is acknowledged and respected, and laughter and activity involving rhythm and
dance are encouraged. Repetition of words, phrases and requests for tunes from residents with significant dementia
are treated seriously and with deference.
Since there is no expectation for the residents to respond in
a programmed fashion, they inevitably make
the show just by being themselves and doing just what they do. My success rate is significant; I perform at over
85 health care facilities all over metropolitan Boston, most of them regularly since 1993.
Please
call for current rates.
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