Pay-what-you-can singalongs for seniors strike the right chord

Kenna Burima is a familiar name to many in Calgary's music scene, largely from her association with different bands and music genres and her piano teaching and songwriting workshops.

Now, she's formalizing a service she's been doing for a while informally.

It's Singalongs for Elders. People with songbooks gather around Burima and her keyboard and everybody sings.

"People connect with me. They send me a list of songs. I learn them and put together a songbook. I go to them and sing bedside or chair-side or wherever they may be, and we have a good time," Burima told The Homestretch.

She's being doing singalongs for years, here and there, but two recent get-togethers, in particular, touched her soul.

"One for a man that was a family friend just days before he passed away, and then one for a birthday party of a 90-year-old mother-in-law's friend. They were such powerful experiences and they also gave me this opportunity to delve into songs I never thought I would learn," she said.

"I realized there was a gap for elder services in all sorts of situations."

She calls it musical entertainment and a celebration of life through songs that mean something to that person.

People have strong connections to songs, she says.

"They elicit memories that have been completely forgotten about," Burima said.

"The colour of the dress you were wearing in the dance hall or the kind of cigarettes you were smoking, that kind of thing. Songs can transport you back to that moment when that song meant something to you for the first time."

Her way

Burima says sometimes she walks away richer after digging into a song that wasn't on her personal favourites list.

"I learned Frank Sinatra's My Way for a 91st birthday. I never thought I would learn that song. It just didn't speak to me as a song ... and then I had to learn it. Once I internalized what this song meant, I can't help but love the song and love what it means and the story behind it," Burima explained.

"There are so many layers for this project, for me as an artist."

Her service is offered as pay-what-you-can. Burima says if a group can't cover the cost of her service, the generosity of others will kick in.