Words from Radical Connections Artists

Artists shown in the image, first row left to right: Fanny Marks, Katherine Grier, Chris Maclean. Middle: Julie le Gal. Bottom: Patricia Reynolds, Namitha Rathinappillai, Zach Robertson

Over the summer Bruyère's Elisabeth Bruyère Residence and St. Louis Residence have been the venue for a stellar array of musicians, story tellers, poets, and actors in a program called Unmasked Connections. Through an online forum residents and family members have been offered one on one, interactive virtual concerts with artists of their choice. (This program was made possible by grants from the Ontario Arts Council and Eldercare Ottawa).

We would like to share with you the touching and inspiring words of the artists of Unmasked Connections speaking of their prior experience with similar activities and their understanding of the program's importance.

Fanny Marks

Growing up in a very classical music background, I felt very early on that playing music was more than performing formal recitals in front of a too often elitist crowd engaging the artists and the audience in very little or non-existent direct human communication.  

As a music student in London (UK), I worked with mentally challenged children and teenagers playing and organizing weekly workshops for them. These are some of my best memories of music making the biggest difference for each individual among that community of people of different abilities. 

Now working in the community based organization Orkidstra in Ottawa, I can achieve my dream of making precious humane connections which will change the lives of hundreds of children and teenagers. This association is also all about community building and connections throughout Ottawa especially the socially challenged families participating in the program. 

Throughout my life as a musician, I played in numerous retirement homes, experiencing the magic and power of music for all these people who feel isolated from the rest of the world. Music can bring back cherished memories and dignity through this listening process. 

When I see any little sparkle of life, joy or nostalgia in at least one of the people in care I am performing for, I know why I chose to be a musician.

Katherine Grier

I've been telling stories professionally since the early 1980s. I believe that one story sparks another and that story lets us connect, understand that we’re not alone, explore places that frighten or delight us, see possibilities that might not have occurred to us otherwise. I tell real-life stories from my own and others’ lives as well as stories passed down through my family. I also tell folktales from around the world that are as relevant now as they ever were. In the process, I’ve worked with people with difficulties or limitations in their lives—through a story and language-play program I helped to found for at-risk parents, through a workshop series to help bereaved people and immigrants to Canada tell their stories.

Since 2013, I've been working through MASC's Seniors Program. This has meant helping seniors figure out which of their life events would make a good story and how to tell them. I also tell stories to suit their interests, sometimes interspersing them with songs, inviting discussion in between. Connecting with participants is a crucial part of sessions like these and makes them satisfying and affirming.   

All the best for the continued success of Radical Connections. It's such important work at a time when radical change is needed!

Chris Maclean

 I am also interested in singing with people who are facing life with chronic or even life-threatening illness. As a survivor of Crohn's disease, I understand how music can be of great benefit, either for relaxation and comfort or as a means of expressing/identifying/releasing emotions such as fear or sadness. As a singer-songwriter and Voice Movement Therapy practitioner, I have years of experience working with clients (in-person) on writing songs and liberating the singing voice as a means of self-expression

Julie le Gal

Music, poetry and stories lift us out of the daily concerns we have and take us to unexplored territories. They can comfort us, lift us, awaken our curiosity and enliven our relationship to the world and to each other. It is exciting to imagine what may happen when an artist meets a new audience member one on one to see how the music or the word might unfold this time, and to witness together a little new world come to life. 

In my youth, I lived in the Camphill Ontario community for a year, a live-in  community for those with cognitive development issues. As a young adult I worked as a home care worker for three years, helping the elderly and those  recovering from illness or trauma in their home. I lost my mother to cancer after  many years of illness when I was in my twenties, which brought me in intimate  contact with the palliative care world.  These experiences all brought me to love the human journey and choose to become an actor. There is always such joy at meeting a new person, and I know we all change each other in some way through our encounters.

Patricia Reynolds

The Radical Connections project is very appealing to me, as I have dedicated my retirement to musical ventures and have been looking for a means to contribute to the  well-being of those isolated in hospitals or in long term care. Throughout my mother’s  progress from retirement residence to long-term, I became aware of residents’ needs to  experience both connection and cultural activities. The pandemic has heightened these  needs and I would like to use my skills and experience to make a difference in the lives  of those who need the animation the arts and human contact bring to life. 

I began to use music and song as a way of reaching my mother during her 12 institutionalized years and realized that the musical approach used with her would be  useful with many other residents. As her dementia became more severe, our  communication was greatly enhanced through the music. Although her memory was  limited, words and melodies often came out intact. Other times, the beginning of a song  would trigger memories and stories - consistent with the literature demonstrating the positive effects of familiar music in stimulating memory and speech. We sang and  conversed in English and French, each bringing their own recollections.  

It would be a privilege to be part of Radical Connections and to make a real contribution  to the holistic wellness of residents in care.  

Namitha Rathinappillai

I believe that the trauma of being distanced from one another and being without community is one that is real and has lasting effects. Online programming has the power to bring folks across the world together to share a moment that they may have never shared otherwise. The power of connection should not be lost on us during this tumultuous time.

Zach Robertson

Music is good for the soul. It is a way for us to feel connected to each other and to the world. It brightens our spirits and releases our frustrations. And it’s something that is often lacking in long term care. My late grandpa was a musician and a big influence on me. He could play guitar and piano and harmonica and would sing songs while stamping out a beat with his foot. And despite dementia causing him to forget the family’s names, he could always play well. 

Whenever he sat down at the piano, the rest of the patients and nurses would all quiet down as they listened to him. There is something about music that evokes memories and emotions in us that can be nearly inaccessible through other methods. This is why working to bring music to people like my grandfather is so important. It makes people happy, and being in good spirits can be a powerful path to peace. 

Made possible by grants from the Ontario Arts Council and Eldercare Ottawa