Like Father, Like Son

The Healing Sounds of Music delivers a special brand of medicine to people in assisted living facilities, hospice centers and nursing homes in Palm Beach and Broward counties: music.

The nonprofit hires local musicians to perform 45-minute sets of classical music, showtunes and more.

“We’ve just gotten a tremendous amount of positive feedback from the facilities and people who come to see the performances,” says Russell Coyne, president and executive director of the organization, which was founded in 2018 by his father, Martin Coyne, a longtime Boca Raton resident who died last year.

“The goal is not just to entertain but to brighten up their mood, brighten their day and make them feel a lot better.” 

Performances are usually given by a quartet – violin, cello, piano and trumpet – and sometimes a singer. Each concert costs an average of $750 to produce, and the Healing Sounds of Music spends no funds on administration or marketing, he says: “All the money raised goes to the performances.”

Recently, because senior care centers weren’t permitting visitors due to the pandemic, musicians played a few alfresco concerts on the grounds of such facilities, “where the residents could hear from their rooms and balconies,” he says.

Coyne, who lives in Broward County, wants to expand the Healing Sounds of Music across the country, not only to uplift senior citizens but to support artists as well.

“It’s great for the musicians, too, because that is a difficult profession,” he says. “Arts funding has been cut. This really helps pay their bills and so forth.”

Coyne has no musical background; he just wants to continue his father’s mission. Martin was a philanthropist who founded the Boca Raton Symphonia and supported many other local organizations. 

“There have been plenty of empirical studies to show the effect of music on people’s moods and physical ailments,” Coyne says. “My father was extremely passionate about this, so I wanted to fulfill his wishes. Seeing the program and how much it means to all these seniors – they look forward to this concert more than anything else.” O

For more information, call 954-682-0834 or visit healingsoundsofmusic.org.