Trillium, RAVNAH's Hospice Chorus Comforts Patients and Families
Posted on Jan 23, 2012
Trillium, RAVNAH's Hospice Chorus is a group of volunteer singers with the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice who offer their harmonious voices to individuals with a life-limiting illness, as well as to their families.
Since 2007, the group has been sharing their love of music with hospice patients and other community members in private homes, nursing homes, hospital rooms and at memorial services.
Their presence tells people that they are not alone at the end of life and that they are still a part of the community in which they live.
Watch the video below to hear the harmonious voices of Trillium.
To learn more about the Trillium Chorus or about Hospice care, call 802.770.1683 or email hospice@ravnah.org
The Trillium Story
Trillium is a group of trained volunteer hospice singers with the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice who offer songs of comfort, hope, and healing at the bedside of those with a life-limiting illness and their families. Their singing sets a calm, peaceful mood that can help ease the passage between life and death. The group has a large repertoire that includes spirituals, hymns, folk songs, old standards, and world music, tailored to the individual needs and preferences of the patient and family.
With a budding reputation “Trillium has grown in many ways since we were formed in 2007,” says Mary Barron, co-director of Trillium. Over the past five years the hospice chorus began with 39 members and has grown to almost 60 consistent members. Barron observes that Trillium is one of the most active hospice choruses in the state of Vermont. From hosting a state wide, well attended, annual hospice chorus workshop, to receiving the 2011 Governor’s Award for Outstanding Community Service, Trillium has truly flourished.
The way Trillium is organized is just one of the pieces that helps make them the most successful hospice chorus in Vermont, serving the greatest number of patients of any hospice chorus. “Between the Hospice Volunteer Services Coordinator position and the steering committee we started in 2011, we seem to really have a program that works well,” explains Licia Gambino-Hamilton, co-director of Trillium. Another important aspect of Trillium’s success has been the generosity of the Grace Congregational Church where Trillium practices weekly. Barron adds “Grace Church has been so generous with space and has embraced this mission” helping them spread their talents to the community.
There are a lot of strong vocal groups in the Rutland area with many of Trillium’s singers belonging to at least one, which makes Trillium strong vocally. But Trillium is much more than music, as Barron stresses the group does not give concerts. “Being a part of Trillium is very fulfilling, a way to use music for good” she says. “It is an ego-less way of doing music because we are not there as performers, nor as entertainers to put on a show. We are there to provide spiritual support through music.”
Gambino-Hamilton echoes these same sentiments, “When you go in and sing for a patient, you do not think ‘am I not going to do my best at this performance?’ I admit I am usually nervous to sing in front of people, even my husband, but I am never nervous to sing for a patient and I have no performance anxiety because it is not a performance.” When asked why she participates in Trillium, Gambino-Hamilton explains, “singing for someone is powerful and spiritual, you leave feeling transformed.”
The response Trillium gets from patients and their families is overwhelmingly positive. Although the group never expects a response to their sings, Gambino-Hamilton says “I have seen non-verbal patients be verbal. One man responded physically to the music, moving his feet and arms as if conducting when he had been non-responsive for some time.” She adds, “there are a lot of tears with emotional release as well as pies and cookies for us because being there is a celebration with the family.”
It can be difficult for some people to express their feelings through words especially when dealing with death and dying. “Music unlocks emotions without words being said,” explains John Campbell Volunteer Coordinator at RAVNAH and the newest addition to Trillium.
Trillium is important to the Rutland community, singing not only at bedsides but at community sings at senior facilities, memorial services and at educational outreach presentations to help educate the community about the importance of hospice. “Other cultures do death better than we [Americans] do” adds Gambino-Hamilton. “For myself, being a part of Trillium has made me more aware of the process. Community sings help to spread the conversation, make hospice more visible and increase its awareness.”
If you are interested in finding out more about the Trillium Chorus and the services they provide, contact John Campbell, Hospice Volunteer Coordinator of Rutland Area VNA & Hospice at 802-770-1683 or jcampbell@ravnah.org.
