Winter 2026 Newsletter from Music Care by Room 217
WHAT’S NEW
CHANGEMAKERS
Julie Lambert is the kind of caregiver every person living with dementia hopes to find. In a Hamilton long-term care home, Julie uses music with intention, compassion, and skill to transform moments of fear into connection and calm. Trained through MUSIC CARE Certification, she knows not just that music works, but how and when to use it. One powerful encounter shows how a familiar hymn restored dignity, peace, and safety—without medication.
LEADING EDGE
A visit to the Royal Infirmary in Leicester revealed the quiet power of Healthcare Musicianship in action. Led by Nick Cutts, musicians moved bedside to bedside, offering live, responsive music that connected deeply with patients and clinicians alike. Rooted in European practice and strengthened through reflective teamwork at OPUS Music, this work has grown into a groundbreaking Quality Framework—defining excellence, integrity, and the future of music in healthcare worldwide.
CONNECTING THE DOTS
Caregivers told us flexibility matters—and we listened. A new academic partnership between the Room 217 Foundation and McMaster University Continuing Education brings a flexible, asynchronous format to MUSIC CARE TRAINING Level 1. Designed for real schedules, this popular course now offers dual recognition, practical tools, and immediate impact—no musical background required. It’s the next step in expanding meaningful, accessible education for caregivers everywhere.
ESSENTIALS
TIPS & TRICKS – Assembling and Using a Music Care Kit
A Music Care Kit is a simple, powerful way to bring intention to everyday caregiving through music. Using accessible tools—devices, familiar recordings, simple instruments, and conversation prompts—caregivers can respond to emotional and sensory needs with confidence. Designed to grow over time and adapt to any setting, Music Care Kits support connection, calm, and engagement, helping individuals and teams create a shared, music-rich culture of care.
MUSIC CARE TOOLS
MUSIC CARE CONNECT puts personalized music care at caregivers’ fingertips, anytime, anywhere. With access to over 800 thoughtfully designed songs, videos, and activities, caregivers can easily create programs tailored to individual needs—from calming and personal care to dining, exercise, and end-of-life support. Organized by care use, genre, and theme, this streaming app supports meaningful, person-centred engagement 24/7 for individuals, teams, and care organizations.
BOOK REVIEW
Social Emotional Learning is reshaping education, and music classrooms are uniquely positioned to lead the way. In Music Education and Social Emotional Learning: The Heart of Teaching Music, Scott N. Edgar offers practical, compassionate guidance for educators supporting students’ emotional well-being through music. Rich with real-world examples and tools, this book affirms music’s power to build empathy, belonging, and resilience—making it essential reading for today’s music educators.
MUSIC CARE CONFERENCE 2025
What made MUSIC CARE CONFERENCE 2025 so memorable?
- A relevant theme – ‘The Power of a Song in Dementia Care’
- A presentation from Ontario’s Minister of Long-Term Care, the Honourable Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, one of the architects of Bill 121, Improving Dementia Care in Ontario
- An amazing host partner at the Metalworks Institute, one of the most renowned Canadian music studios
- Recording an original song together
- Inspiring performances and presentations by Memories to Music and the Raising Voices Dementia Choir from Alzheimer Society Peel, and Jill Barber
- Plenaries and workshops that inspired, informed and equipped the 246 attendees
- Strong local program partners: Alzheimer Society Peel, Acclaim Health, ArtsCare Mississauaga
- Generous financial partners: LiUNA, The Slaight Family Foundation, Marion Ethel Kamm and Frederick John Kamm Charitable Trust, Sony Music Publishing, Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, Foster Hewitt Foundation, Kindera Living.
This is what attendees said.
- The care and passion for how music can assist greatly with clients was validated for me.
- I attended alone and chatted with new friends at every opportunity.
- I appreciated the range of professionals from different fields – university, government, non-profit organizations, choral projects etc.
- I learned lots and was affirmed in my music care work, but singing together and recording that song was giving us the experience of music care in a group setting.
- I appreciated how the virtual audience was included.