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 Mission Statement
Swan Songs is an Austin, Texas based project designed
to organize private concerts for individuals and families living with
life threatening illness. Patients have the opportunity to request a
favorite style of music or local area musician. By bringing live
music directly to the home, hospital or hospice facility, Swan Songs
helps to create a healing and comforting environment through the
fulfillment of musical wishes at the end of life.
How it Works
Swan Songs concerts are available for patients in a
non-curative phase of treatment, whether they are in the
hospital, a hospice facility or at home. Usually the
request call comes in from a family member, friend, physician,
minister or hospice care provider. Once we determine what
the musical wish is - whether it is a specific local musician or
a certain style of music - we get to work making that dream come
true. The concerts are 20 - 40 minutes in length,
depending on the energy and strength of the recipient.
They are all acoustic with no amplification. A Swan Songs
concert can create an opportunity for a gathering of family and
friends with a focus on the music instead of the illness.
Or, it can be a private moment between the recipient and the
musician. The selection of the music is very personal -
whatever is meaningful and significant for that individual is
what Swan Songs strives to provide. It may be jazz piano,
Irish drinking songs, French cabaret music, Mexican polkas, old
country western songs, the blues, the original songs of a local
songwriter, bluegrass fiddle...the list is endless. Once
the concert is scheduled (which can take anywhere from 24 hours
to two weeks, depending on the situation) a Swan Songs volunteer
accompanies the performer to the concert location. The
performer is paid by Swan Songs, with no financial commitment on
the part of the patient or their family. The family's
privacy is respected throughout the entire process.
To schedule a Swan Songs
concert, please call
512-416-SWAN.
The History of Swan Songs
by Christine Albert - President, co-founder
In 1992, I was asked
to sing at a small gathering of friends and family as a formerly
vibrant 40-year-old man faced an early death from a terminal
illness. Months later I sang in the hospital room of a cancer
patient who loved my French songs. He died a week later.
The honor of being invited to sing at these powerful moments in
people's lives was humbling and inspiring. Because Austin
is the "live music capitol of the world," I knew that there had
to be many other Austinites facing the end of their life who
could no longer go out into the community to hear their favorite
performers.
At the
same time my good friend, Gaea Logan, a gifted Austin
psychotherapist, was supporting a friend through his final
transition and was also feeling compelled to create a program
that made music more available to patients in hospice care. The
idea was born to create an organization to act as a liaison
between the healthcare community and the music community.
That initial project was called MusicAid and over the next
several years a number of concerts were organized and provided.
We discussed setting up the program as part of several regional
non-profits, although the timing was never quite right.
Gaea kept the idea alive while I went off and embraced other
life changes and challenges.
One day I
was taking a walk and thinking about our MusicAid project.
I had begun singing in nursing homes and assisted living centers
and was reminded again how powerful music can be outside of the
typical "entertainment" venue. I wanted to recommit to the
concept and the name Swan Songs appeared out of nowhere,
complete with goosebumps! That first gathering I played in
1992 was for John Swann. I researched the swan and the
phrase "swan song", and I knew it was the right name. (See Swan
Mythology)
Finally
in 2005 we dove in whole heartedly and created Swan Songs.
A supportive group of like minded individuals fell into place to
join the board, the corporate paperwork was completed and at the
end of 2005 we received our 501(c)(3) status from the IRS.
I am managing the project on a volunteer basis and along with
Gaea and the other board members we are working diligently to
make Swan Songs a lasting and valuable part of the Austin
community.
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Board of Directors
Christine Albert, Singer/Songwriter; president and
co-founder
Craig Deats, JD, Deats, Durst, Owen and Levy; vice president
Tim Dziuk, MD, Radiation Oncologist
Susan Emery, Licensed Clinical Social Worker; secretary
Miranda Fontaine, M. Div, Chaplain, Hospice Austin
Gaea Logan, MA, LPC, Psychotherapist in private practice; treasurer and co-founder
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