There is no denying that music brings people together. Regardless of age, gender or race, music is a force that connects us all. At Room 217, music and a desire to help others is what has brought us all here. Each face of Room 217 comes from a different background, bringing their own unique stories and experiences to achieve one common goal: to help others with music, just like every person who is touched by and touches others through Room 217. In the coming weeks you will get to meet the faces of Room 217. Here’s Chelsea’s story.
Meet Chelsea Mackinnon. Chelsea is the Research Lead at Room 217. As the founder of Intergenerational Music Hamilton and a teacher of music and health at McMaster University, Chelsea uses her experiences in health and wellness settings to research the impact of music care on receivers and providers. I asked her some questions about her life before Room 217 and how these experiences shape her role at Room 217.
Kaitlyn: How has music impacted your life?
Chelsea: Music has been a source of joy and fun in my life for as long as I can remember! I am super grateful for my time growing up playing the piano, French horn, trumpet, violin, and singing in choirs. Music gave me so many unique opportunities, including travelling to awesome places with great people. One musical memory I will never forget is the time that my friend Karis and I wrote a 30-minute musical. We wrote all the music, lyrics, recorded backtracks and then performed it in our high school English class!
Kaitlyn: What did you do before Room 217?
Chelsea: Before Room 217 I was a student! I think it is fair to say that my role at Room 217 was my first “real job” in the field in which I’m building my career. I completed my undergraduate studies at McMaster University in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program, and was in the middle of my MA in Music and Health Sciences at the University of Toronto when I met Bev!
Kaitlyn: What led you to join Room 217?
Chelsea: I love telling this story! I met Bev Foster when she was a guest speaker in my Intro to Music Therapy course at the University of Toronto in my Master’s degree. I was immediately captivated by her energy, and felt so aligned to her work based on what I’d been working on in Hamilton communities (using music in the context of intergenerational programs to foster connection). Bev and I had a meeting to discuss our work further, and the rest is history! I’ve been happily working hard to support Room 217’s mission and vision ever since.
Kaitlyn: Is there anything else you want others to know about you?
Chelsea: Now, I’m super lucky that music is a part of my work as well as my personal life. I regularly lead sing-alongs in community care spaces in Hamilton with my organization IMHope. IMHope’s mission is to create opportunities for older adults to engage in a meaningful way with their community through music and intergenerational connections. I have the opportunity to teach caregivers about the different ways they can use music to improve the care experience for the people they care for in my role at Room 217 by contributing to research on the use of music in care at Room 217 and in partnership with McMaster University. So I’d say that music is a hugely important part of my life, and I’m so so grateful that I get to engage with it in so many diverse ways, almost every day of my life!
Chelsea’s story reminds me that when our passions and our work align, we can create something extraordinary in the lives of others.
Charitable Registration #85728 5092 RR0001 • Room 217 Foundation™
Box 145 Port Perry, ON, L9L 1A2 • 844.985.0217