Jason Chu
Playing piano at my grandfather’s bedside while he was in a coma, I learned that healing is rooted not only in medicine, but also in human connection. That experience led me to volunteer as a hospital lobby pianist, where conversations with patients revealed the isolation faced by long-term care (LTC) residents and hospital patients. Today, I serve as Executive Director of Students for Music and Wellness (SFMW), a youth-led nonprofit reducing senior isolation through music. Since the pandemic, I have helped grow SFMW from virtual performances in over 100 care homes nationally into an in-person initiative delivering free concerts, bedside music, and interactive workshops. I now lead hospital expansion efforts while empowering youth musicians to bridge generations through compassionate leadership.
Together in Tune: Concerts and Hands-On Music Workshops
Together in Tune is a youth-led initiative that brings live music and interactive workshops to seniors in long-term care (LTC) homes and hospitals. Led by student volunteers trained by a certified music therapist, the project fosters intergenerational connection and emotional well-being through shared musical experiences. Since 2020, the team has reached over 4,000 seniors in 100+ care homes through virtual programming. This year, the initiative expanded in-person to 20 LTC homes and 4 hospitals, continuing to scale its national delivery.
https://www.sfmwellness.org/About this Project
Communities Served
My project will involve and/or impact the following communities:
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
When it comes to community impact projects, the UN has created 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These are the Sustainable Development Goals associated with my project.
How the project works
Trained student volunteers deliver monthly concerts, bedside performances, and interactive music workshops in long-term care homes and hospitals. Programming runs year-round, with new high school chapters established to meet growing demand across regions and ensure sustainable, ongoing community-based music delivery.
Project Impact
The project reduces social isolation and depression among seniors through music-based intervention, fostering meaningful connections and emotional well-being. Interactive workshops support cognitive engagement and active participation, helping counter decline associated with inactivity. At the same time, it empowers youth to develop leadership, empathy, and sense of civic responsibility while building lasting intergenerational connections within the broader community.
Project Mission
Together in Tune aims to improve the emotional well-being of seniors by delivering live, interactive music programming in long-term care homes and hospitals. Its mission is to reduce social isolation, foster intergenerational connection, and support cognitive engagement, while empowering youth volunteers to become compassionate leaders who strengthen and reconnect their communities through music.
Project Team
An international team of student volunteers delivering music-based care in healthcare settings.
- Students for Music and Wellness (SFMW) Team
Video
SFMW YouTube Channel
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