Music students perform band concert for seniors
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 6 months AGO
Courtesy photo Moses Lake School District band students played music, and threw in a dance, at a concert for seniors Saturday.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | June 13, 2017 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Members of the Moses Lake High School band and Chief Moses Middle School bands played a concert – and even threw in some dance moves – for the residents of Pioneer Village Saturday morning.
It was the inaugural concert in an initiative called “Harmony Bridge,” which is designed to introduce kids and senior citizens to each other through live music. Pioneer Village is a senior living complex across the street from the high school.
The MLHS and CMMS students played for the residents, music designed to appeal to seniors and students alike, and performed a nifty little dance as a bonus.
Dan Beich, who teaches band in the MLHS music department, said the music teachers learned about the program when the Dallas Brass came to town in March. Michael Levine, the Dallas Brass founder, is also the founder of the Harmony Bridge program.
Levine said members of the Dallas Brass visited a South Dakota extended care facility during a 2010 concert tour, and began playing a few tunes while they were there. The music attracted other residents of the facility, who gathered in the hall to listen.
The residents’ visible enjoyment gave Levine an idea. “Thanks to music education, we have millions of kids, from coast to coast and in every size community, who have the ability to bring joy to the lives of these seniors,” he wrote. That led him to start Harmony Bridge, and prepare a music program for it.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
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