When Cassie Goldyn’s grandmother was in hospice, she and her sister played music for her.
“It made her really happy, probably more happy than I was really ever able to see her,” she recalled.
It’s a gift 14-year-old Cassie now continues to share with Maui kūpuna.
“We started going to senior homes, and it makes me really happy to see that happen, especially since I watched the spark kind of happen for my grandmother when they hear music from their generation.”
Cassie and her sister have started a nonprofit called Keiki Kupuna to continue their mission.
“I play piano, and my sister, Bobby, plays piano and guitar,” Cassie said. “And we also both play ʻukulele. And we have a few different members. We have a 6-year-old who plays piano as a part of our group. We have a kid who plays very impressive ʻukulele. We have a girl who dances hula. And we sing, obviously.”
Together, they regularly share music with kūpuna in their community.
Now, they want to expand their group to include a musical director, a practice space, and new sound equipment and instruments. They also want to offer more training and performing arts opportunities for Maui youth.
“There's also no chorus for kids on Maui that's free,” Cassie explained. “And we really want to give them this opportunity to perform for free.”
They’ve launched a fundraising campaign and hope to begin the musical company in August.
Cassie says with kūpuna in mind, they play a lot of pre-1970s music and Sinatra tunes. With many seniors experiencing dementia and Alzheimer's, she has watched the healing power of music for her audiences.
“It's really beautiful watching as we’ll sing a song that's from their generation, and they'll just know every single lyric when they can't remember my name after I've said it four times,” she said.
Cassie hopes more youth will join them in playing music while sharing with the older generation.
“After all of our shows, we go and we talk to our kūpuna -- we ask them about themselves, and it's just really incredible to watch,” she said. “I really think it benefits me just as much as it benefits them.”
For more information, visit keikikupuna.org.
