Parkinsingers program

1. Music Matters International
A non-profit company
2120 Green Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
www.musicmattersinternational.org
215-668-0116
Marjorie Samoff, Director
masamoff@aol.com
Monday, May 18, 2015 6 – 7 PM
Ethical Society
1906 Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia, PA 19103
PARKINSINGERS Inaugural Concert
Holly Phares, Choir Director
Ryan Fleming, Accompanist
The ParkinSingers Choir
WiththeHealingPresenceSingers
JustinGonzalez,Ukelele
A collaborative project of
Penn Medicine Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center
Dr. Matthew B. Stern, Director
and
Music Matters International,
a non-profit company dedicated to research-based music
programs to improve mind, mood, and movement.
HonoringthememoryofFahnyaBean
withspecialthankstoDonaldBean

2. HOLLY PHARES, Choir Director (B.M. Music Education, Westminster
Choir College; graduate studies in Voice Performance and Opera, Temple
University) has been teaching, conducting, singing, and composing
professionally for over 30 years. First as a school choral director, then as
a faculty member or special instructor, she has trained professional
singers and prepared choirs for colleges, vocal programs, orchestras, and
special venues from the Art Museum steps to the Philadelphia Orchestra
to Italian music festivals. Ms. Phares is currently the Director of Music for
Philadelphia’s Tabernacle United Church (23 years) as well as The Healing
Presence Singers (2 years). She is also a consultant and artist instructor
for Opera Philadelphia on outreach programs including Hip H’Opera and
Family Day. (For information about Ms. Phares’ workshops and master
classes in vocal and ensemble technique, composing, vocal improvisation,
and private voice lessons, see her website, www.civocalarts.com.)
Welcome. Today’s concert offers a sampling of music
rehearsed during a 12-week pilot study of the impact of choral
singing on patient-centered outcomes for people with
Parkinsons.
Under the sponsorship of the Penn Medicine Parkinsons Disease and
Movement Disorders Center, Dr. Alexander Pantelyat and Dr. Allison P.
Willis designed the study, with Candace A. Syres and Krunal Shah as
research coordinators, supervised by Suzanne Reichwein. The choral
project was conceived by Music Matters International, a non-profit
company, which implemented the rehearsals and concert, aiming to
develop evidence-based music programs that are effective, sustainable
and accessible to all.
Penn Medicine Parkinsons Disease and Movement Disorders
Center, Dr. Matthew B. Stern, Director, is a National Center of
Excellence in Parkinsons disease, internationally renowned for
outstanding treatment, research, and patient outreach and advocacy.
The Healing Presence Singers offer musical solace through song to
people who are experiencing difficult life transitions, such as hospice,
homelessness, chronic illness, and social injustice. Its Music Director,
Holly Phares, founded this “comfort choir” in 2013. (Information:
www.hpsingers.com)
Music Matters International
Founded in 2014, Music Matters International is a non-profit whose
mission is to provide evidence-based music programs to enhance
the lives of people with disabilities. Born from a collaboration be-
tween Marjorie Samoff and Dr. Alexander Pantelyat, our company
aims to support research and to translate the findings into sustain-
able programs, serving as a bridge between research and the clinical
population.
Our first venture is a partnership with the Penn Medicine Parkin-
son’s Disease and Movement Disorder Center: a 12-week choral sing-
ing research project culminating in a concert on May 18, 2015. Based
upon the findings of this and other research, Music Matters plans to
offer citywide choral and music-making programs, developing mod-
els that can be financially sustainable, easily accessible, and widely
replicable.
We are also collaborating with a team at the Johns Hopkins Parkin-
sons Disease and Movement Disorders Center in Baltimore, under
Dr. Alexander Pantelyat’s leadership, on an expanded choir research
project slated for the fall of 2015.
Music Matters’ co-founders are Marjorie Samoff, a music and thea-
ter professional with a research background, and Carol Coren, princi-
pal in Cornerstone Partners, former Executive Director of the
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and an expert consultant to
many non-profit arts, film, community development, and sustainable
agriculture organizations. Special thanks to Dr. Oliver Sacks and Dr.
Daniel Levitin.

3. Charlotte Schatz I did not truly become involved until 6 or 8
weeks Into the program. I developed a bad cold and then lower
back problems, resulting in a series of injections to alleviate the pain.
I initially felt that meeting twice a week required too much of my
time. I needed the extra day to do physical exercise. As we ap-
proached the concert performance, it was obviously necessary. I do
not read music which was frustrating but Holly was extremely help-
ful with on-line instructions. I enjoyed meeting the other singers
and working with Holly and Marjorie.
Reflections from members of the ParkinSingers
Bill Patterson Bill has rediscovered his love of singing in this
group. At age 67 he thinks back to his days as a baritone in the Case
Men's Glee Club [that was so long ago that there was no Case West-
ern Reserve University], wondering why it took being diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease to get himself doing this again. In his vocal en-
semble hiatus he has learned harmonica and fiddle, however, so mu-
sic has nevertheless remained a major part of his life.
Betty Pollack Shapiro I had the honor of designing the
ParkinSingers logo. The design of the overall shape and the specific
letters have meaning and speak to the challenges People with
Parkinsons face. For example, the size of the letters in “Parkin” get
smaller, much as the disease involves smaller movements and
quieter voices. Singing in the choir is a strategy for getting larger,
symbolized by the increasing size of the letters in “Singers.”The
designs reflect the journey the choir is taking in addition to qualities
we experience: hope, protection, commitment, motivation,
cooperation, courage, community, gratitude, skillfulness and
friendship.
Program
Prelude
Welcome and introduction
With a Little Help From My Friends (J. Lennon/ P. McCartney)
Jazzy Warm-up (Sabine Horstmann)
Dona Nobis Pacem (Traditional)
Now I Walk in Beauty (Navajo Prayer)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen/ E.Y. Harburg,
arr. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole)
Ol’ Man River (J. Kern/ O. Hammerstein/ arr. H. Phares)
I Walk the Line (Johnny Cash)
Something Inside So Strong (Labi Siffre)
Holly Phares, Choir Director
Ryan Fleming, Piano Justin Gonzalez, Ukulele
Sound and Lighting by Rhyzomenyc: Caleb Olson and Theo Shier.
Video by Dan Brennan. Usher: Tereza Olson.
Our deep thanks to all those who helped make this project possible:
Laura Baehr, Donald Bean for inspiration, Carol Coren, Congregation Rodeph
Shalom for hosting our rehearsals, Roy Feinberg and the wonderful team at
Rodeph Shalom, Lorna Glassman, Mamie Guidera, Katherine Huseman for
invaluable assistance, Yuni S. Lee, Wendy R. Lewis, Meredith Pauley, Darina
Petrovsky, Suzanne Reichwein, Candace A. Syres, Krunal Shah, Dr. Matthew
B. Stern.
The Performers
Spencer Anderson * Virginia Dillon * Susan Jaffe *
Grace Labouchere * Bill Patterson * Betty Pollack Shapiro *
Charlotte Schatz * Maggie Baker * Richard Kalwaic *
Mark Rader * Marilyn Rogers * Marjorie Wilhite

4. Dr. Alexander Pantelyat is Director of the Atypical Parkinsonism
Center and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity. He received his MD from the Temple University School of
Medicine, completed his residency in Neurology at the University of
Pennsylvania, and a fellowship in movement disorders at the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania/Philadelphia VA Medical Center. He treats pa-
tients and conducts research in areas including atypical parkinsonian
disorders and music-based rehabilitation of neurodegenerative dis-
eases.
Dr. Allison W. Willis is Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Perel-
man School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She received
her MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and her
Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from the Washington Uni-
versity School of Medicine. She has published extensive research in
areas including young onset and Parkinsons in the elderly, deep brain
stimulation, and epidemiology.
We celebrate the memory of Fahnya Schorr
Bean (1918-2013) who was born in Philadel-
phia and graduated from Smith College. In
1942, she married Donald Bean and in 70
years of marriage, they had three children
and seven grandchildren. Devoted to her
family, active at Congregation Rodeph Sha-
lom, a docent at the Pennsylvania Academy
of the Fine Arts, and an editor and volunteer
teacher at Germantown Friends School,
Fahnya Bean came from a musical family.
Her mother and younger sister sang outside
the home and spontaneous bursts of sing-
ing were common inside. Fahnya loved op-
era, which she and Don attended fre-
quently, and she would read the libretto
early in the day of any performance.
Reflections from members of the ParkinSingers
Grace Labouchere Music has always been important to me. I enjoy
classical and rock concerts, music in the movies and singing along
with the radio. It stirs my emotions and can quickly change my mood,
for the better! There is something magical about music. "Music
soothes the savage beast." Now I am aware of music's therapeutic
value and have experienced its healing powers in myself and others. I
am most grateful to Holly and Marjorie. Music really does matter.
Susan Jaffe When I was a young woman I sang in a choir, and I
danced for years. As Parkinson's disease took over my body I
exercised daily with great physical therapists, but I did miss dancing
and singing. I began to write and had some success. But when I
heard about Dance for PD and ParkinSing I was very excited. Both
activities have given me new insights about PD but also ...more
importantly ...insights into myself. Holly has said, “If you can walk
you can dance and if you can talk you can sing.” She's an inspiration
for us all.
Spencer Anderson At an early rehearsal, Holly asked for one word to
describe our “intentions” for the choral project. Not one to use one
word when you can use four, I came up with “The four C’s”: Challenge,
Control, Confidence, and Community. Challenge represents the cour-
age to take on something outside our comfort zone--- like singing in
front a live audience---when most of us have little experience and al-
most no voice training. By exercising our voices in song, we gain better
control of our voices, learning how to make ourselves heard, even in
crowded restaurants. Confidence is something we gain by successfully
meeting the challenge, and maintaining confidence is very important to
allowing people with PD to continue with activities of daily living. And
finally, a sense of community is something created in the teamwork and
shared experienced of learning the music and performing this concert.
Virginia Dillon A former professional dancer who toured interna-
tionally, Virginia is unaccustomed to using her voice, but truly loves
the rehearsals with ParkinSingers. The camaraderie is so special
and we really have a ball singing. I thank Marjorie and Holly for a
wonderful experience.