Crooners: A Participatory Approach to Music-Making with the Elderly

Product Description Our society is rapidly aging, and the number of older adults around the world has reached historically unprecedented levels. As a result, the issue of caring for our elders has become as important as ever. This book is an account of how the student volunteer organization Harvard-Radcliffe MIHNUET (Music in Hospitals and Nursing Homes Using Entertainment as Therapy) has recently taken an innovative, participatory approach to music-making with elderly in nursing homes and hospitals through a project called Crooners. Crooners is a subset of MIHNUET that conducts sing alongs with the elderly. Our goal is to perform with, not for, the seniors. We welcome you to learn about how we have transformed our capacity to build meaningful friendships with local seniors through this new participatory model in the hopes that you will be inspired to carry out something similar of your own. All proceeds from this book will directly support our volunteer work. About the Author Alan Yang is Harvard College Class of 2018 and the 2017 Co-Director of Harvard-Radcliffe MIHNUET. MIHNUET stands for Music in Hospitals and Nursing Homes Using Entertainment as Therapy, and it is a student organization whose mission is to bring the gift of music to nursing homes and hospitals in the greater Boston area. Sandy Li is Harvard College Class of 2018 and a talented artist who illustrated the cover of this book.