MusicianFest
The Music Performance Trust Fund has a long-standing tradition of providing music entertainment for senior citizens. Although older enthusiasts enjoy our park events, community concerts, and symphonic performances, we have strived to connect more deeply and more intimately with our aging population, who face growing economic, mobility, and social challenges.
The power of music to bring joy, purpose,
Over 2,500 musicians have participated in MusicianFest events including recording artist Rosanne Cash, pictured with Dan Beck, MPTF Trustee.
MusicianFest Inaugural Performance
In 2015, the MPTF developed a program called MusicianFest as an umbrella covering senior center/assisted living facility/hospital performances. Our goal was a lofty one, to initiate 500 solo musician performances across North America.
With the help of a grant from The Film Funds, the MPTF connected American Federation of Musicians locals with the selected senior centers and that mission was accomplished! As MPTF revenues have grown over the past five years, we doubled our commitment to the senior initiative. By our fiscal 2019-20 year, we funded 1,334 MusicianFest events.
As live musical performances came to a halt in the spring of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, senior facilities were engaged in a tragic crisis. Due to safety requirements for senior audiences and the musicians, only 243 performances could be launched that year. In our 2023-24 fiscal year we had a record number of 1,459 MusicianFest performances.
To date, over 5,000 MusicianFest performances have been played and over 5,000 professional musicians have been paid …And over 250,000 seniors have been entertained!
Click on the link to view our short, feel-good documentary “MusicianFest: Never Too Old.” Imagine what it might mean to just one senior… to hear one song… that brought back one great memory… at just one of our performances!
MusicianFest: Never Too Old, A Music Documentary
A half-hour documentary MusicianFest: Never Too Old highlights the power of music to bring joy, purpose, connectivity, and healing to all people. The film shines a light on MusicianFest, an initiative to provide free musical performances at senior centers and assisted living facilities in the United States and Canada.
Need help getting started to present a Never Too Old screening or MusicianFest event for seniors? Get in touch!
Watch our film below.
MusicianFest: Never Too Old, is a film depicting music’s power to enrich life for older audiences, and for the musicians themselves. This half-hour documentary highlights the power of music to bring joy, purpose, connectivity, and healing to all people. The film explores the paths that led the professional musicians featured in the film, many who are seniors themselves, to perform for older audiences in New York City, New Orleans, and Long Beach, California.
Watch the film here (closed captioning included as an option). If you would like to receive a link to the audio description version of the film, or for more information on arranging a film screening or MusicianFest performance in your community, complete the contact form below.
In 2021 the film was nominated for the Life Fest Film Festival
In 2019 the film was a finalist at The Cutting Room International Short Film Festival in NYC.
The film also shines a light on MusicianFest, an initiative to provide free musical performances at senior centers and assisted living facilities in the United States and Canada. It amplifies the mission of the founding partner, the Music Performance Trust Fund, which is to provide admission-free, live, quality music performed by professional musicians to the public of all backgrounds throughout the United States and Canada.
