Laura Gharrity
At St. Mary’s Care Center, a skilled-care nursing facility on Madison’s south side, a string quartet delivers a performance worthy of an upscale concert hall while residents form a semicircle around the players. Some bob their heads and tap their feet, while others feel their way through the melodies by waving their hands in the air.
The players are from Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Rhapsodie Quartet, representing HeartStrings, a 10-year-old effort demonstrating that music transcends culture, age and ability. HeartStrings recently won a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support its operations.
Each year, the talented quartet performs throughout Dane County at retirement communities, health care facilities and institutions that aid the developmentally disabled. In total, the quartet’s rigorous schedule brings therapy-informed performances to about 3,200 people.
“The music is so peaceful; it feeds from the center of your being,” says Carmela Mulroe, activity director at St. Mary’s Care Center, which started hosting HeartStrings after Mulroe caught a performance about five years ago. The residents at St. Mary’s always make an effort to attend the performances — even those who prefer to stay in their rooms and skip most communal activities make an appearance, Mulroe says.
The players have had years of consultations with Laurie Farnan, coordinator of music therapy at the Central Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled — another HeartStrings location. “We focus on improving audience members’ quality of life,” says Kathryn Schwarzmann, MSO’s director of education and community engagement.
Each concert has a theme — such as Americana — but the program is modified to fit the needs of the people at each facility. For adults, the music generally runs 50 minutes. For kids, they trim it to about 30 minutes.
Suzanne Beia, the quartet’s violinist, introduces each song, weaving in stories and encouraging participation. She’ll ask questions about the music or pass out tambourines or sticks for members of the audience to keep the beat. Even when the attendees are quiet or slow to answer questions, she takes the time to encourage them and thank them for participating.
“As musicians, we don’t get to see a lot of tangible good we create,” says Beia, who has been with the program since the beginning. “We could see people responding.”
Beia’s fellow musicians — violinist Laura Burns, violist Christopher Dozoryst and cellist Karl Lavine — say they cherish the interaction and energy they receive from audiences.
Thanks to funds from the NEA grant, the Wisconsin Arts Board and numerous other donors and sponsors, the MSO offers the performances at no cost to the facilities.
Because many residents in elder care facilities are no longer able to get out for a night on the town, the concerts evoke a sense of elegance. “It’s like a date night,” says Mulroe, pointing out a couple holding hands throughout the concert.
Mulroe says memory care patients (with various forms of dementia) “reach a different level of serenity” during performances. The songs and melodies trigger long-forgotten memories, and occasionally the patients end up singing along with lyrics they haven’t uttered in decades.
“It transports them to a place where there is no age.”
