Music for Seniors and How it Supports the Creative Class
In the summer of 2021, I received an email from Sarah Martin McConnell seeking help with the nonprofit she had founded, Music for Seniors. Sarah had dedicated 14 years of her life to its important mission and although she loved it, she needed someone to help her think through how to help her transition into the next phase of her life, what we like to call “her future awesomeness.” As she approached a milestone birthday, Sarah said her wish would be to turn the reins over to someone who would be able to steward the organization to the next level.
Sarah reaching out to me that day was the start of me falling in love with the mission of this incredible organization and now I chair the Board of Directors. To me, Music for Seniors’ special sauce is the benefit it provides for two populations while building community and connection. The first of these is obvious—the hundreds of seniors we serve. The other is the Musician Partners we employ to deliver our programs. Yes, you read that correctly. We compensate our Musician Partners for their work.
As a musician herself, Sarah recognized from the outset that working class creatives are often asked to donate their time: whether it be a musician playing for free or a visual artist donating his or her work for an auction. Although many artists are happy to donate their time and talent, the reality is that their craft is how they make a living, and these special skills should be valued, especially in an ongoing partnership. With this in mind, Sarah designed all of our programming to include paying the Musician Partners for their services. Now most of those partners will tell you they don’t do this for the money, it’s the impact they have and the connection to senior adults, but it’s a bonus to be compensated for their work.
In a time where Nashville touts our creative class to entice businesses to relocate here, or to encourage tourism and new residents, the rapid growth that has ensued is making it harder and harder for the creative class to afford living here. What makes Nashville “Music City” is working class musicians. And I’m honored to be a part of an organization who has recognized the value of creative folks from the beginning. One example of how Music for Seniors has been able to benefit our treasured Musician Partners was during the pandemic. Music for Seniors was able to apply for federal money during that time and provide PPP money to them, which was extremely important, especially with live performances being shut down.
We love the seniors we serve and would not be able to do this work without our other critical population: musicians. This “win-win” business model has resulted in long-term partnerships with both our senior living communities and our Musician Partners. The proof is in the numbers:
Music for Seniors serves over 31,000 older adults annually in 100+ locations across 11 Tennessee counties by working with over 100 Musician Partners.
And I know those numbers are just going to grow!
