Interactive Music Program for Seniors
Since being established in 2002, the increasing popularity of TAKING FLIGHT reflects the genuine need for a seniors’ music project in our communities. In this program, Ptarmigan focuses on providing accessible, affordable and interactive music programs for seniors’ centres in the Victoria / Gulf Islands region and beyond. Our performances are tailored to the needs of the residents of individual seniors’ centres, featuring musicians playing songs and instrumentals from a variety of eras and cultures, including swing music from the 1920s through to the 1960s, along with cultural songs, classical music, Celtic and other ethnic music.
Besides providing an enjoyable afternoon of song and dance, Ptarmigan’s goals for TAKING FLIGHT are multi-faceted, including:
- helping to ease loneliness, isolation and marginalization caused by loss of one’s home, family, friends, or by mounting physical disabilities
- increasing opportunities for social activity within the centre
- enhancing activation & therapy programs for residents
- providing seniors with a chance to enjoy entertainment they can no longer access due to poverty, lack of support or newly acquired physical disabilities
- providing audiences with a change of entertainment
- providing music that reflects the different cultures present in the community, allowing seniors to see a reflection of their own cultural identity
TAKING FLIGHT is interactive, utilizing singing, movement and music programs developed in consultation with care centre therapists and activation coordinators. Musicians among the seniors are invited to play with us, while all in attendance are invited to dance and sing along. We’ve even performed for exercise classes, as well as special events and theme dinners such as Robbie Burns night, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day and Mothers’ Day. Given the number of invitations we received for return engagements, Ptarmigan strongly believes that the TAKING FLIGHT program provides a genuinely valuable service that improves the quality of life for the seniors in our communities.
recent quotation from Victoria Client