Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES Winter 2019 7 MUSIC NOTES A Co ll a b o r a ti on o f L o v e W hile checking my university e-mail in January, I came across an interesting email from Jennifer Heemstra of the Pitch Pipe Foundation. She was quoting statistics of veterans' suicide rates being an average of 22 per day and that it skyrockets far beyond this number during the week of Valentine's Day. Well that caught my eye; not the usual email that floats through the University server. She was seeking performers from the University to volunteer their time and talents. Jennifer had made it her Valentine mission to provide performers to go into the Veterans Affairs facilities across the United States the week of Valentine's Day to help entertain, upli, and share appreciation and love with our veterans. In checking in with the Music Department secretary, I found that no other staff had replied to her plea. In talking to Heemstra, I was impressed and excited by her passion and motivation for the project; her grandfather is a veteran and close to her heart. As a music therapist since 1985, I knew my profession was founded on the results from this very thing; the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual healing that occurred when musicians visited the hospitals aer the veterans came back from World War ll was amazing and helped the injured to feel whole again. Well this was right up my alley, not only because of my profession but because my father had served in the Air Force, my father-in-law in the Marines, and my son had just enlisted in the Marine Corp. I was now on a mission. I contacted both my SAI Sisters in the Ft. Wayne Alumnae Chapter, as well as my ukulele friends from the ree Rivers Ukulele Club aka TRU Ukes. I made it my goal to provide a performance for both the Fort Wayne and Marion VA Healthcare sites in Indiana. Programs for each site were set-up with the SAI chapter providing a performance for the Fort Wayne site and the TRU Ukes traveling to Marion, IN. We were ready and excited. I would love to say everything went fabulously, but we live in the "real world" and the "real world" is messy. Of course there was an ice storm the morning we are supposed to make the 50 minute drive to Marion, but the show must go on! We braved the weather and other obstacles and it was a great experience for the performers and veterans alike. One of the veterans, who was in the hospital for a suicide attempt, kept the group's information. When he got out of the hospital, he brought his wife to Fort Wayne to see the TRU Ukes perform at our monthly performance at Pizza Hut. What a happy reunion! e Ft. Wayne Alumnae Chapter performance was equally fraught with mishaps. We were to perform in the auditorium where there was a piano, which was needed for several songs. However, major construction was going on and the staff had planned on us performing in the hallway where the veterans were waiting for their appointments. Much of our warm-up time was spent problem-solving and, of course, talking to all the people walking by who saw our instruments and shared their musical stories. In the end, we performed in the auditorium, performed primarily for staff (who were mostly veterans), saw many smiles, and had people singing along. We talked to veterans and their family members in the waiting room, were patient and flexible (because it really wasn't about us), and shared our love of music. We decided the program was so delightful that we contacted a nursing home and took the show on the road. We even talked about taking the show to the Marion VA site in the future, but when the weather is better. Heemstra, who appears to live the ideals of SAI, could not have known what an amazing catalyst she would become when she initiated that email, but she has truly touched many lives in a beautiful, musical way. From the Pitch Pipe Foundation website, "Jennifer Heemstra, professional pianist and entrepreneur, earned her Master of Music from e Cleveland Institute of Music and a Bachelor of Music with University Honors from Michigan State University. e creation of the Pitch Pipe Foundation came from years of philanthropic work around the world, and its immediate goal is to send musicians abroad in order to drive social change globally. Initially, focusing on Trafficking in Persons in South Asia, Heemstra plans for the Pitch Pipe Foundation to expand from Michigan to every corner of the globe." Visit her website at Pitchpipefoundation.org — Jackie Hinsey, President, Fort Wayne Alumnae Chapter

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