Blog #6

 We visited serval new facilities in the last couple of days. Some of these new facilities include the Mulberry Gardens as well as the Avenue at Medina. It was fun engaging with a new community, and I was able to learn a lot from the people at each community. At the Mulberry Gardens, we were in the memory care unit of the facility. It was one of our largest audiences for our performances within our Hawken Project. We played our standard repertoire and the patients really enjoyed our songs. One of the crowd favorites was the Waltz Katzen as well as Tale as Old as Time. This performance in particular was special because several of the employees and nurses were able to listen in. This performance was also special to me because it had a significant reaction in the crowd. After playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Can’t help Falling in Love, several people in the audience started crying. Oftentimes, I forget that music can have a huge impact on people. Also, I sometimes underestimate the impact of the music Jamie and I play. Our performance at the Mulberry Gardens was very moving because I realized how important music therapy can be to people. After our performance, I was super grateful because one of the employees approached us and explained that the music moved her to tears. It was a wonderful experience, and I enjoyed playing the music even more because of the enthusiasm from the patients and staff at the mulberry gardens. I loved being a part of the community and I hope we can visit again after Hawken Projects.