How live performances are brightening the days of long-term care residents and staff

Long-term care residents in Waterloo Region got a front row seat to a professional symphony orchestra as part of a local research project.

The six-part concert series at Schlegel Villages wrapped up Friday morning and featured musicians who used to play with the former K-W Symphony Orchestra.

It was a joint initiative between Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging and Concerts Ontario and part of a three-year project for health promotion and mental health recovery with long-term care staff.

“We’re looking, of course, not only at the potential benefits for the residents, but in particular – what does this mean for our team members, for our staff?” Kate Dupuis, the Schlegel Innovation Leader, said. “We all know how difficult it has been in long-term care since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and even before then. What we’re really trying to do is bring some music to these homes to provide joy, to provide connection, to provide a morale boost, and a bit of benefits for mental health and wellbeing for our staff.”

For employees, it also aimed to increase job satisfaction as they get to watch their residents enjoy a high quality activity.

“To give people that little lift, that little boost in their day,” Debra Chandler, the executive director of Concerts in Care Ontario, said. “It gives them something to talk about with the residents, it gives them something to talk about amongst themselves and they can share it when they go home and think about it, and then come back and say ‘that was a different kind of day.’”

Residents also benefit from the project.

For some, like Ronald Weiler, it offers a sense of nostalgia.

“My brother played the trumpet and my sister played the clarinet, so I was somewhat familiar with those instruments,” he said.

On Friday, Weiler watched a cellist and clarinet player perform for 25 minutes.

“I thought it was good. They obviously spent hours practicing,” he said.

The musicians, Barbara Hankins on clarinet and Cathy Anderson on cello, both spent years playing with the former K-W Symphony Orchestra, which went bankrupt earlier this year.

They said opportunities like this one – to come together with their colleagues and perform live – are special.

Hankins said this performance was especially meaningful for the senior residents.

“It’s real people making music for them and wanting to bring some happiness and a bit of culture, too,” she said. “We give them a little idea of things to listen for and a bit about the composers so there’s a little bit of an educational element as well.”

The project is also running at several long-term care homes in Ontario and is just wrapping up its first year of a three-year grant.