Linda Gregson, a hospice chaplain and bereavement coordinator, commented on the SOHP CDs she received as a donation to her organization.  She said, “The CDs are beautiful.  They were delivered into the rooms within 24 hours (of our receiving them).  That day I heard them being played.  The Native American music was being played in the nurses station to the joy of several people.  . . . We had one gentleman that was a vet and the family was so thankful for the patriotic CD.  They smiled as they talked about his love of his country and this music.”

Several of the hospices and nursing homes that Sounds of Hope Project services with its CDs are in need of CD players. If anyone in the Cleveland, Ohio, area has a CD player at home that is in good condition that you would like to donate, please reply to this posting or send us an email.  Thank you.

The Sandusky Ohio Veterans Home sent SOHP a thank you note for the CDs they received.  They believe the CDs will enhance the quality of life of their residents.

Dean David H. Stull of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music sent Sounds of Hope Project a congratulatory letter commending the Musicians Who Care project, the CDs featuring Oberlin alumni.  He praised this “outstanding and worthwhile project.”

After seeing an article in the local paper, the Sun Star-Courier, our Ohio State Representative (18th House district) Michael D. Dovilla sent a letter to SOHP’s president and founder, Mary Lou Lydecker.  In the letter Mr. Dovilla offered his praise for enriching the lives of our friends and neighbors in assisted living facilities, hospitals, and hospices.  He also thanked SOHP for its commitment to being actively engaged in the lives of residents in our community.

Thank you, Representative Dovilla, for your support!

Join us at the St. Albert the Great annual craft show all day on December 3 to hear and receive our three new CDs featuring Oberlin College alumni.  All of Sounds of Hope Projects’ CDs will also be available.

For a donation of $10, you will receive a CD of your choice, and another CD will be donated to an organization or person of your choice.  Or, if the you choose, SOHP will donate the second CD to a person or organization who will benefit from our music.

St. Albert the Great is on Wallings Road in North Royalton, Ohio.

Sound of Hope Project continues to work with other musicians who have agreed to allow us to use their recordings. SOHP president Mary Lou Lydecker, a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, attended a cluster reunion.  She and other graduates came up with the idea of using their senior recitals to further SOHP’s mission. Several of the alumni at the reunion volunteered on the spot.  Those Oberlin Conservatory alumni sent tapes of their performances to Mary Lou.  SOHP is reviewing the pieces to decide the best way to use them.   The music is beautiful, and we are excited about this new way to further our mission.

In December, 2010, Mark McLellan replaced the outgoing Treasurer of The Sounds of Hope Project.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Cleveland State University and has over twenty-five years of experience in the accounting profession.

Damien Hand-Cannane joined the Sounds of Hope project board on May 9, 2011.  He is a 2010 graduate of Kent State University with a B.A. in music and an M.S. in Accounting and works as an accountant for KeyBank in Cleveland.

In other board actions, Bill Hartzell, the board’s vice president, is taking a temporary leave of absence to focus on his job responsibilities.

The book, This Is Your Brain on Music, by Daniel J. Levitin reaffirms Sound of Hope Project’s goal of using music to soothe those in need of any kind of healing.  The book uses science to show the effect of music on the human brain.  The author states that music coordinates the different parts of the brain and addresses the role of music in so much of human existence.

SOHP has donated many CDs to nursing homes and to people who live in nursing homes.  In nursing homes, music can be used for:

• Sing along activities – Singing is not only fun, but recalling the lyrics helps memory.
• Background music – Calm, peaceful, soothing music can help calm and soothe patients.
• Religious music – Those who can’t make to actual services will feel part of a worship service.