Billings Symphony launches new program to bring music to the homeless population

BILLINGS — The Billings Symphony is expanding its reach with a new initiative designed to bring live classical music to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.

Watch the Billings Symphony play for the unhoused community:

Billings Symphony launches new program to bring music to the homeless population

The program, called Symphony Outreach for Unhoused Lives, or S.O.U.L., kicked off Friday with a performance by a woodwind quintet at the Montana Rescue Mission. The music offered residents a rare moment of calm and connection through music.

Brad Constantine, the symphony’s chief operating officer, helps facilitate the more than 200 different community engagement events or outreach programs each season. While many of these take place in senior living homes or schools, he recognized that a group was being left out.

“We began to look at what part of our community have we not reached through our community engagement,” said Constantine. “We thought that there was some way to reach the unhoused lives in Billings, and we know that it’s an issue everywhere, and we feel like everybody has a right to music, and our mission is to enrich all lives through music.”

Friday’s quintet was made up of five symphony players, flutist Tyler Menzales, oboist Sue Logan, clarinetist Laurel Linde, horn player John Dutton, and bassoonist Kirsten Kennedy. They performed for a room of shelter residents and staff. For many in the audience, the 30-minute concert offered more than entertainment, but a brief escape.

“Everybody is dealing with something, whether it’s economy, politics, or family struggles,” said Joanna King, the Montana Rescue Mission’s Leadership Foundation Program Director. “It’s just a chance to put all that aside and sit in a moment of peace.”

That peace is important for the dozens King serves at the shelter. Currently, the shelter houses 84 long-term residents, and in the past month, the emergency shelter has seen 121 individuals.

“It was a really good instant connection because I spent 17 years as a public school music teacher, and I know the power of music to touch hearts and change lives,” said King.

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The concert at the mission is the first of many they hope to perform at homeless shelters and recovery centers across Billings. Different ensembles from the symphony will rotate through the program.

“These musicians and many of our outreach musicians feel very strongly about getting back into the community,” said Constantine. “Music is a human right, and everybody should be able to experience how it feels to listen to live music.”

For mission resident Dane Carder, that message resonated deeply.

“It was amazing. I absolutely enjoyed it,” said Carder. “I’m hoping to go see them on stage this year with some of their performances so I can catch the whole group together.”

A storm chaser by trade, Carder has called the mission home since January after a series of difficult turns put him out of work.

“Last year, I kind of got hit by a car in McHenry, Mississippi, so I ended up coming up here to stay with a friend to kind of heal up in that. Unfortunately, after a little while, my friend got caught up in his addiction again, so we kind of separated ways. I came here,” said Carder.

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As a long-time fan of classical music, the performance served as a form of therapy, especially after months of intensive surgeries.

“It very much is an escape, basically. Music is something that everybody can connect with, and no matter what genre of music you listen to, people have a story to tell themselves,” said Carder. “Music sometimes helps them tell that story through not only the feeling, but the type of music, and the lyrics, and everything else.”

The performance also offered a moment of hope for the shelter’s staff, especially amid recent internal leadership changes after the firing of their former executive director, Matt Lundgren. King said this partnership is a step toward moving forward and continuing their goal of caring for the homeless population.

“Our staff need some moments of peace too, and so we want this to be a place where our guests feel healthy and safe and loved, and where our staff are excited to come to work and know that their work has purpose,” said King.

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Another concert at the mission is planned for October. King said she is encouraging all residents to attend.

“I did notice a few tears, and some people were even drawing pictures of the actual instruments and the musicians themselves, but it was emotional for everyone, including the musicians and I,” said Constantine. “Everything is mission-driven to enrich whole lives through music, and every opportunity that we have to get out is a really important one.”