Old Time Music

Let's all be honest here for a second—the thought of getting older, the thought of breaking down, the thought of dying, well, these are terrifying concepts. Many of us have this bad habit of downright ignoring the elderly and not wanting to think about it, but one community program is diving right into these concepts with open arms. A product of The Academy for the Love of Learning, Lifesongs crosses generational barriers between local artists, musicians, students and the elderly for collaborative music, poetry, storytelling and concerts with a focus on inclusion and dignity for those in nursing homes and/or hospice care.

The program founded in 2007 by local musician/artists Acushla Bastible and Molly Sturges pairs older people with members of the community and sparks a creative process based on the lives of participants. From there, musical style is dictated by the participants' own tastes and what begins to emerge is a series of songs and stories based on their lives and experiences. The songs are then performed at concerts complete with a band and community choir, and suddenly the stigmas associated with the elderly (like the aforementioned fear of aging and dying) make way for moving and life-affirming truths. Rather than dwelling on the sad trajectory of the end-of-life process, Lifesongs celebrates those who have lived and provides a much-needed lifeline for a cross-section of the populace whom, let's face it, are often placed into care and forgotten. For example, though Lifesongs has worked with the Santa Fe Opera and Ambercare Hospice and has recently partnered with Kingston Residence of Santa Fe, the bulk of participants thus far have come out of the Santa Fe Care Center, an almost entirely public facility for those who lack the ability to pay for elder care.

"More than 80 percent of the residents don't have active visitors, and end of life already tends to be an isolated process," Lifesongs Program Coordinator Alysha Shaw says. "So what we do is collaboratively write music for these people and do so in multigenerational groups called Lifesongs Ensembles."

These ensembles have included students from Santa Fe University of Art and Design, the Waldorf School and members from the community, and the results are absolutely moving. The hard work all culminates in community concerts in venues like the Lensic Performing Arts Center or Albuquerque's National Hispanic Cultural Center. And should you be curious about what results from the cross-generational create-a-thon, Lifesongs has an upcoming event called Hope: A Soul in Song. The performance will take place in the Scottish Rite Temple and features a post-concert reception where participants will be on hand to presumably discuss the process.

"I can describe what it's like, but the fact is you have to experience it for yourself," Shaw says. "The sorrow, yes, but there is also the beauty, which is very life-affirming…a lot of times there isn't a dry eye in the house, but there is always smiling and always laughing."

In addition to their day-to-day work, Lifesongs is currently developing training methodology in order to provide access to their program in other communities, as well as an upcoming crowdfunding push to support a concert in the spring.

For many of us, the knee-jerk reaction to the process of aging and dying is that of discomfort to the point that it's simply easier to ignore the concepts altogether. This is obviously unhealthy, and Lifesongs' commitment to leaving a musical record of those who have lived long enough to deserve our respect is kind of phenomenal.

"We're working to alleviate the fear around death and dying, and the bottom line is that the concerts are beautiful," Shaw adds. "This is one of the most incredible projects I've had the privilege to be involved with, and doing this work, exploring death and dying, has made me appreciate my life so much more and made me live it more fully."

Hope: A Soul in Song
4:30 pm Sunday, Dec. 14. $10
Scottish Rite Temple
463 Paseo de Peralta,
995-1860

Santa Fe Reporter