Music for Life: Music Participation and Quality of Life for Senior Citizens

Music for Life: Music Participation and Quality of Life of Senior Citizens presents a fresh, new exploration of the impact of musical experiences on the quality of life of senior citizens, and charts a new direction in the facilitation of the musical lives of people of all ages. Authors Fung and Lehmberg clearly define the issues surrounding music education, music participation, quality of life, and senior citizens, discussing the most relevant research from the fields of music education, adult learning, lifelong learning, gerontology, medicine, music therapy, and interdisciplinary studies. At the heart of the book is Evergreen Town, a retirement community in the southeastern U.S.A., that serves as the backdrop for three original research studies. The first of these is in two phases, a survey and a focus group interview, that examines the histories and rationales for the music participations and non-participations of community residents. The second and third case studies take an in-depth look at a church choir and a bluegrass group, two prominent musical groups in the community, and include the perspectives of the authors themselves as group members and participant-observers. Fung and Lehmberg conclude with a challenge for the profession of music education: to act on this research and on the current advances in the field, to enable all people to benefit from the richness of music as a substantial contributor to quality of life.

C. Victor Fung is Professor of Music Education and Director of Center for Music Education Research at the University of South Florida, Tampa. His research emphasizes on social psychological aspects, multicultural issues, and international perspectives of music education. He has given over seventy presentation at professional conferences, and open lectures and seminars at over twenty institutions, across five continents. He has served as a Board Member for the International Society for Music Education, the College Music Society, and Florida Music Educators’ Association.

Lisa J. Lehmberg is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her areas of specialty are general music, world music, music for students with special needs, and music education technology. Her research interests include urban music education and senior citizens’ participation in music. She is author of the book The Challenges and Rewards of Urban Teaching: Six Elementary Music Teachers’ Perceptions of Effective Teaching and Pre-Service Preparation for Urban Classrooms.