The Raise The Roof Concert, held at Christ Church on Nov. 9, was an intergenerational event to benefit the Life Enrichment Center of Oyster Bay’s seniors.
Board member Suzanne Paolucci explained the center’s wish to get iPods for the seniors as a source of musical therapy. She brought the idea to the center from a talk by social worker Dan Cohen, the founder of Music & Memory. He has produced a film, Alive Inside, that tells the story of music as being restorative. Music is like therapy for the elderly, in particular for those with dementia, as it has been shown to awaken memories of happier times in life, when energy and enthusiasm were boundless.
Between the ages of 19 and 26 is a magical time for music: most of us best remember the music of that time in our lives.
“Music seems to be a remarkable way to awaken memories and making people more engaged,” said Paolucci.
LEC Executive Director Silvana LaFerlita Gallo added, “A woman in the program, who sits with her head on the table, woke up with the sound of the music. That lady happened to be my mother.”
The LEC has been certified for the Power of Music program and any donations will help them. They have reached out to students at St. Dominic High School and are training them for the program and will contact Oyster Bay High School students shortly, to get them involved in programming the iPods with the personal music choices of the seniors in both their in-house programs and for the homebound. Therefore, the center is looking for iPods and iTunes gift cards as donations to their program.
Raise The Roof
The Raise the Roof concert performers included young ladies in the Episcopal Church’s Treble Choir, Oyster Bay High School Chamber Singers and the Catholic Holy Trinity High School Select Choir. The First Presbyterian Church of Oyster Bay was one of the sponsors of the event.
The hope to get as many local religious organizations involved in the center is another of the center’s goals, said LEC Board President Susan Peterson.
Suzanne Paolucci’s son Christopher was the piano accompanist for many of the pieces performed. Her daughter, Claudia, sang with the Treble Choir and later picked the winning raffle tickets at the dinner in the Parish Hall.
“Top-Notch Stuff”
Before the concert, Interim Pastor “Charlie” Colwell introduced himself to the music lovers, saying he married his wife in Christ Church 50 years ago. [She is Judith Hubbard and her sisters are Sandra H. Watkins and Carla H. Weitzman. Judith was born in Oyster Bay and he in Maine.]
Pastor Colwell said, “You have a treat coming tonight. I’ve been listening to the rehearsals and this is top-notch stuff. It is a really incredible concert. I promise you it is fabulous.”
What followed reached his expectations and the audience agreed, ending with a standing ovation for the Holy Trinity singers. Their first song was in Swahili, aided by bell ringing and foot stomping. Their last songs were harbingers of the holiday season: “Let It Snow” and for all the young people attending, a piece from Frozen.
Concert-goers walked across the campus to the Parish Hall where the reception and dinner were held. Chef Philip Arcara of Don Filippo Restaurant of NYC created a superb dinner. Committee members created a great array of raffle items, thanks to event co-chairs Laura K.V. Dougherty and Judy Palumbo; committee members Patricia Azmitia, Susan Peterson and Lillian Soricillo. Thanks, too, go to the present and former board members who bid enthusiastically for the raffle items.
Peterson announced the names of the raffle winners and many of them were board members and former board members who keep on giving. The door prize was won by Mary Kiernan-Tighe, who brought her mother Rosemary Kiernan to the dinner. Kiernan won their table centerpiece, a bouquet of red roses, for being the oldest senior at the event at 87. Kiernan said that both the Oyster Bay High School Chamber Singers and the Holy Trinity Choir will be taking part in the center’s holiday events, and that she enjoys hearing the young people perform.
Call 516-922-1770 for more information.
