A year-long music therapy project at L’Arche Winnipeg will be showcased tonight as participants share original songs created over months of collaborative writing and community work.
The event, called The Voice To Be Me, marks the first time L’Arche Winnipeg has hosted a music therapy initiative of this kind, following an extended songwriting program that ran throughout the school year.
Music therapist Danielle Savard says the project began as a grant-funded opportunity last September and quickly grew into a collaborative creative process involving core members, assistants and volunteers.
The grant funding supported adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities within the L’Arche community as they worked through grief and emotional processing.
Savard says music therapy focuses on working toward non-musical goals.
“It’s a hard thing for anyone. And so it’s like grieving together and processing emotions together was one of the bigger goals of the music therapy project. So we used music as a way to process our emotions and share with each other,” she said.
“We’ve been writing songs together as a community, and now we are showcasing all the work we’ve done during our community circle nights,” Savard said.
A gift to share
Savard says the performance is meant to highlight the value and dignity of every participant and the sense of community built through the program.
“The event tonight is important because it really just highlights how we are all equal in God’s eyes and how we each have a gift to share. We each have a voice to be heard,” she said.
She added that music has played a powerful role in bringing people together.
“We’re all just one voice gathering together to praise God for the gifts that he’s given us. And it’s a really good showcase of just how everyone’s come together to sing the same song. That’s the beauty of music. It brings everyone together.”
Savard, a Winnipeg-based music therapist, said the project developed over several months of structured songwriting sessions.
“It’s been a blessing to have this grant project to work on original songs over the past eight months,” she said. “We’ve been writing songs together as a community, and now we are showcasing all the work we’ve done during our community circle nights.”
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Healing through music
Savard says participants were encouraged to explore instruments, singing and songwriting in a supportive environment aimed at non-musical goals such as connection and communication.
“The power of music therapy is using music to reach a non-musical goal,” she said. “It’s fostering community, growing relationships and increasing self-expression.”
She added that one of the most meaningful outcomes has been watching participants engage in music-making in new ways.
“We have many instances where people have sung or played an instrument for the first time or have made new friends,” she said.
Original songs and familiar favourites
The showcase will feature a mix of familiar songs, including “You Are My Sunshine” and “Country Roads,” alongside original pieces created during the program.
One original song, Friends Forevermore, reflects the growth of community and connection within L’Arche.
Another, The Voice To Be Me, serves as the central theme of the project and includes recorded voices from across the community.
“That’s the main theme song, which we have put the most time into by clipping everyone’s voices into the song,” Savard said. “I’m really excited for everyone to hear that one because it’s been a fun theme anthem to have for L’Arche. And that’s what the name of the event is tonight.”
Building belonging through music
L’Arche Winnipeg is part of the global L’Arche International movement, which focuses on building inclusive communities where people with intellectual disabilities are fully integrated into everyday life.
Savard says the program’s goal extended beyond music creation.
“Making everyone just feel like family together, so just kind of blending the community in a very integrated, wholesome way where everyone who attends L’Arche,” she said.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source classic107.com ’
