Drumming to De-Stress

Beating the Drum with the Chamber!

On May 17th, Roman Music Therapy Services had the opportunity to host members of the Wakefield-Lynnfield Chamber of Commerce for an evening of networking and…drumming!

A free event for chamber members, the public was also invited for a nominal fee. We kicked off the afternoon at 5:30pm, giving attendees a chance to mingle, unwind and enjoy some great appetizers from Rooster Thai and Convenience, who supplied the catering. After everyone had arrived and felt ‘warmed up’, Kathy McCann, MT-BC, led the group into the music room where a variety of drums and other instruments awaited them.

The Benefits of Drumming

The drum is one of the oldest known instruments and the act of drumming provides a number of health benefits! It has been proven that an hour long drumming session can reduce stress significantly, is an aerobic exercise, and increases brain function, and that’s not all! Drumming also helps build community and creates a mind/body connectedness. While some of our Chamber participants seemed hesitant and self-conscious at first, it didn’t take long for everyone to loosen up and find their own beat!

Ancient peoples and societies knew the benefits of drumming, and now, as more research is done, so do we. Drumming can help Alzheimer’s patients access memories, children with special needs work on motor skills, and people suffering from depression or anxiety find an outlet for expression. It’s also a great team-builder for businesses or organizations.

If you would like more information about the benefits of drumming and drum circles, please contact us! If you’ve never seen a drum circle, Malden Access TV taped one of ours a number of years ago and you can view it here!

 

Drumming With Heart: Celebrating our 10th anniversary!

As many of you know, we celebrated our 10th anniversary last Saturday at Melrose Memorial Hall. It truly was an event to honor not only the work we do in providing individual and group music therapy services, but also to express appreciation for the community connections we have made and partners we have gained along the way. Continuing our mission of uniting the generations, bringing music to everyone, and transforming lives through music making, the celebration offered an opportunity to bring our entire music-making community together in a party atmosphere.

Meredith Meredith singing with guitaropened the event with a few words of acknowledgement and thanks to clients, supporters, community partners and employees who have been part of the 10 year journey. She also sampled for the crowd one of the opening songs often used by the music therapists, Today Is A Beautiful Day, kicking off the event and setting an upbeat and inclusive tone for the day’s events. Later in the afternoon Meredith shared the news Roman Music Therapy Services’ growth and success have created the need to expand into a bigger space, and that our new home is right down the road in Wakefield, MA (Stay tuned or follow us on Facebook for up-to-the minute details).

Continue reading “Drumming With Heart: Celebrating our 10th anniversary!”

Providing the Beat at the Provider’s Council Expo

Cultivating connections

Providers CouncilAs our organization has grown over the last 9 years, we have met wonderful people and had the opportunity to work with fabulous organizations along the way. This past year, through the LEND Fellowship, our professional network continued to grow. Through the process, we were introduced to The Provider’s Council. With member organizations throughout the state, The Provider’s Council is the largest association of community-based human service providers in Massachusetts. Continue reading “Providing the Beat at the Provider’s Council Expo”