Cynthia Friesen

Room 217’s vision to care for the human heart through musical engagement has inspired me ever since participating in the 2019 Music Care conference. Their pursuit of meaningful change through song and rhythm informs the singing collective which I facilitate for elders with cognitive brain conditions, care partners and healthy agers. The Room 217 team believes in music’s power to transform and connect us which resonates deeply with my own practice and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to their endeavours with a perspective from Canada’s westcoast.

Cynthia conducts the junior choral program for St James Music Academy in Vancouver, British Columbia and facilitates music wellness in addition to acting as team lead for creative expression programming at the University of British Columbia’s BC Brain Wellness Program. She is pursuing an MA in Music Education at UBC, exploring community music through a lens of care and her developing curriculum of belonging.