I do not know of a holiday moment as special as seeing drummers from anindependent living retirement community perform for a skilled nursing group. This was all made possible thanks to the La Costa Glen drumming class! We had been looking for the perfect performance venue for a while, when finally, it dawned on us that performing at the sister skilled nursing community for the holidays would be right up our alley! Our program follows:
Introductions sequenced into the drum groove (My name is Bill, Let’s all play!)
Kum Ba Ya with Drum Call – ending with Shave and a Haircut
Little Drummer Boy
O Come All Ye Faithful
God Rest Ye Merry with Joan playing the tone chimes
Twelve Days of Christmas with drum rumbles
Merritt’s Drum Call ~ Joy to the World
Do You Hear What I hear ~ Tone chimes
White Christmas, Claude, soloist
Silver Bells
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
It was amazing and fantastic! I’ve drummed with these drummers for at least 3 years, and wow ~ We’ve all come a long way. It is an honor to witness our group growth and evolution within the class. After the performance, and after the overwhelming applause, we continued with a program that engaged both performers and audience members in making music. We sang and played Christmas, Hanukkah, and winter songs. We shared our family traditions. Doris and John mentioned that their tradition has always been to hang ice skates on the wall as a decoration. We debated whether Santa Claus actually exists. It is a fact that most residents at La Costa Glen actually DO believe in Santa Claus. We laughed and shared more memories.
Afterwards, I spent an hour with the assisted living group drumming, bell-ringing, and celebrating the holidays. One of my most favorite moments in life is to see someone pick up a drum with tilted eyebrows and skeptical words. Then after playing for 5 minutes, the tilted eyebrows turn to raised eyebrows, and the skeptical words turn to laughter and relaxed social interaction. Comments included “You have uplifted us and gotten us ready for the holiday season!” “Who knew that drumming could make me feel so good?” “You bring us so much joy with your music and drumming!”
Needs: Mood enhancement
Interventions: Active music-making sculpted into familiar songs via bells, drums, reminiscence in the context of music
Outcomes: Positive social interaction aeb eye contact, laughter, smiles; enhanced mood
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