WESTMINSTER, Vt. – The gift of music is powerful, especially on Valentine’s Day. That’s why 16 Kurn Hattin Homes singers and four chaperones loaded into three vans to deliver the gift of song to visitors, patients, and residents at three stops: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical in Lebanon, N.H.; Keene State College in Keene, N.H.; and Cedarcrest Center for Children with Disabilities, also in Keene.
At each destination on the travelling Valentine’s Day concert tour, the Homes’ chorus performed a medley of five songs, including “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” “A Million Dreams,” “Somewhere Out There,” “You are the Reason,” and “Lean on Me,” to audiences in the Dartmouth Hitchcock Main Atrium and Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the Keene State College Student Union, and the Cedarcrest atrium.
Lisa Bianconi, the Homes’ musical director and a cancer survivor who received treatment at the Norris Cotton Center in Lebanon, beamed with pride and emotion as she recapped the day. “Our singers performed beautifully and brought many smiles and tears of joy to the audiences they reached. This was truly a gift of kindness, relationship building, and giving back to community that we hope to repeat every Valentine’s Day.”
While the intent was to deliver something special by performing, the singers also received something very special. Especially impactful for the singers was the stop at Cedarcrest, which is home to children with disabilities. “After performing for the children and staff, the Kurn Hattin Homes singers were filled with emotion and realized how much their music touched and moved the non-verbal audience,” said Bianconi.
Afterward, the chorus had the opportunity to meet each of the children individually, which reinforced the importance of this experience. “All three performance venues were very different, and all were very rewarding for the singers,” Bianconi said upon reflection.
Sir Elton John once said, “Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours.” He was right.