Harmonica harmony — Sandy seniors and students bridge generation gap with music

SANDY — The sometimes-discordant sound of more than 50 harmonicas playing slightly out of sync with one another fills the room as burgeoning young musicians fidget in their chairs.

Still, the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down" resonates harmony because of the people who have come together to create the music.

Seniors from the Sandy Senior Center are teaching a group of Sandy Elementary School students how to play harmonicas. The third- through sixth-grade students meet with their instructors after school once each week to practice; rehearsals will culminate May 24 at an intergenerational concert in the Sandy Amphitheater.

David Gomez, principal of Sandy Elementary School, said the harmonica band has generated a great deal of interest among students and their parents.

"It fills a thirst that they have for music and for the arts," Gomez said. "And it exposes them to things they might not otherwise be exposed to, like harmonicas."

"How often do you hear of a harmonica class?" he asked. "Harmonicas are a part of our cowboy and pioneer history, so that benefits students."

Gomez and Joy Hartmann, director of the Sandy Senior Center, had more than harmonicas in mind when they decided to form the class. Both shared a desire to bridge the gap between Sandy's seniors and its children.

One of the senior center's main goals is to dispel myths and stereotypes that children may have about seniors being "old and stupid and unaware of what's going on," Hartmann said.

Seniors today are aware and actively taking part in things, she said. They're learning and developing talents just like children are.

"We'd like the children to realize that we still have a lot to contribute," Hartmann said. "And we'd like the seniors to realize that children are not just noisy, impetuous and self-centered, that they have something to offer seniors."

Once these two groups get to know one another as individuals, some real friendships will start to span generations, she said. "The seniors and the youngsters have a great deal in common," Hartmann said. "They have some time for friendship and they have some time to develop these fun (skills)."

Intergenerational programs, like the harmonica class, benefit the community in a number of ways, Gomez said.

"It's awareness number one — awareness that you have seniors out there who are aching to give back to the community. It makes them feel needed and wanted and successful in their lives right now," he said.