Every second Saturday, from the Oclef Institute

Play a song someone has loved for a lifetime.

Once a month, young Oclef pianists play the songs residents grew up with, from Moon River to Edelweiss, at senior communities in San Jose and Pleasanton. Many residents live with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, and still hum along, tap a foot, and sing every word.

See the songbook
  • Second Saturdaysevery month
  • 30 minutesone song each
  • 3 service hoursper performer
A young man at an upright piano smiles over his shoulder while an older woman plays beside him and a small group sings from song sheets.

Some songs stay with us long after other memories fade.

For the residents

A melody from their youth can bring back a name, a dance, a whole afternoon. Memory for music is often spared in Alzheimer's disease, even when other memories have faded,1 and a 2025 review of 30 studies found that music can gently lift low mood for people living with dementia.2 A familiar song reaches further than words.

For the performers

Playing for someone who knows every word changes what performing means. Nobody is grading. Your child is handing someone a song back, and the room lets them know it landed.

A second Saturday. The words go up on the screen for anyone who wants to sing.
  1. The promise of music therapy for Alzheimer's disease: A review (opens in a new tab). Matziorinis and Koelsch, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2022.
  2. Music-based therapeutic interventions for people with dementia (opens in a new tab). van der Steen et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2025.

  1. Choose a song

    Pick one from the songbook below: the music residents grew up with. Every Oclef stage is welcome.

  2. Play it for them

    On the second Saturday of the month, your child plays one song in a half-hour concert at a senior community near home. Arrive fifteen minutes early and your host takes it from there.

  3. Listen to the room

    Residents hum, sing along, and often share a memory the song brought back. Every performer earns three service hours, and families are welcome to stay.

The songbook

Songs residents know by heart.

Each one is instantly familiar and easy to sing along to. Watch the front row when the chorus comes.

Opening the songbook...

Upcoming concerts

Pick a Saturday.

Finding the next dates...

About two minutes. Change anything later.

Good to know

Questions families ask.

Who can perform?

Oclef students of any age and any stage. Brothers and sisters can sign up together, up to six from one family, and they all play at the same concert.

What should my child play?

One song each. Choose from the songbook, or tell us another song from the 1930s to the 1970s that residents would know.

How long does it take?

Each concert is about thirty minutes. Please arrive fifteen minutes early and check in with your host.

Do performers earn service hours?

Yes. Every performer who plays earns three service hours, recorded when the host completes the concert.

Can the rest of the family come?

Please do. Families are welcome to stay and listen. Grandparents especially.

Can we change or cancel?

Yes, until the day before the concert. Use the private link you get when you sign up, or Find my signup with your email.

Two generations. One song.