One of the things that occur to me is how often we do something that we have not rehearsed for, how we adjust on a personal level to relate to the people, including caretakers, being sung to. Some examples: one person we sang to many times expressed that she loved the Pachelbel Canon, so Marilyn brought music and played it for her on her piano in addition to the group singing.

Another asked us to sing Kumbaya, which was not in our repertoire, but many singers knew. We sang it for her, she asked us to sing it slower, and then she improvised a descant over our song. Many people have wanted to tell us about their lives, so we encouraged them by asking questions and letting them lead how the visit would unfold. In one case, a granddaughter, who was present, said that she had never known that her grandmother played the violin.

Although music is central to our offering, it is really only one means of communicating love and caring, and it invites people to open up themselves to giving and receiving love not just from us, but from all who touch their lives.