By Nancy McFadden
At our May 26th, 2025 Probus Meeting, Bev Foster demonstrated how music can help us all through life’s challenges with scientifically backed Music Care 217 programs.
Bev Foster is a musician, educator and philanthropist. Perhaps most importantly, she is a daughter who found herself caring for her ailing father in the year 2000. Since then she has observed how music can help patients; studied how to integrate music into general care and then established a social enterprise to facilitate that. Music Care 217 now helps individuals as well as many kinds of organizations by providing products, education, training and certification to effectively integrate music into the care experience. This art is backed by a wide range of science.
Bev opened her talk with the thesis that we are all care givers or soon will be. As music accompanies us through the milestones of life, we can benefit from understanding its wonderful applications to the care of others as well as to ourselves. Slow down the beat of a favourite tune to 60 beats a minute to calm a patient with dementia; establish a beat appropriate to help accident victims walk again; share a familiar tune to help loved ones remember special moments; or write a song at times of grief or need. Sure enough, Bev identified a critical need for Probus Kingsway Islington: remembering our password. With the help of a couple of members, her password gingle emerged as a top hit.
1. Music helps us remember.
2. Music provides supportive care.
3. Music supports rehabilitation.
4. Music helps us cope.
Bev’s artistic talent, scientific pursuits, skills as an educator and delightful personality made this an engaging, enjoyable and pertinent talk.
See more about previous speakers on our website.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 