![\"Zapchenk\"](\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2014\/03\/Zapchenk-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a>In her various jobs working with senior adults (as music therapist, recreation director, volunteer coordinator, and adult daycare provider), Zapchenk encountered many individuals who were lethargic, non-communicative, or confused; and she was delighted to discover\u2014daily\u2014that the music therapy she provided was making a difference in their lives. Adding music to the equation always seemed to open doors in communication, and she loved seeing them \u201ccome alive.\u201d When she started playing the piano, the residents would often begin to sing the lyrics to the hymn, clap their hands, tap their toes, or nod their heads in rhythm. And she found that, for individuals with Alzheimer\u2019s Disease in particular, music therapy could provide a way to communicate with their families as well\u2014even without conversation.<\/p>\nAt Eaglecrest, a Presbyterian Homes community in Roseville, Minn., where she has served for 20 years and is now Recreation and a Volunteer Director, Zapchenk is also the Intergenerational Coordinator, which provides the special opportunity of leading intergenerational activities for the senior residents and the toddlers and preschoolers who attend the childcare center in the same facility. She has seen music bring age groups together more quickly and effectively than anything else.<\/p>\n
Zapchenk chose Augsburg after some friendly urging from her mother, Sigrid (Kvenberg) Daniels \u201948, and because of its highly regarded music program. She was thrilled to sing under \u201cDoc\u201d Sateren\u2019s direction in choir, and the start-up of a Music Therapy program in her junior year was perfect timing. She has stayed in touch with Augsburg in numerous ways\u2014by singing in Masterworks and Vespers (under the direction of Prof. Peter Hendrickson, her classmate), by providing a music therapy internship program that drew in many Augsburg students, through countless reunions and singing opportunities with friends from choir days (including all-day \u201cbrunches\u201d with many women friends), and by regular contact with Prof. Roberta Kagin and other music therapists from her graduating class. She is still moved when she thinks about the special bond among the \u201cSateren singers,\u201d the many sustained and treasured friendships, and all the \u201creally neat people\u201d at Augsburg who have affected her life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Sonja (Daniels) Zapchenk graduated from Augsburg in 1977, she hoped fervently to find work with teens and young …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":212,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/212"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44433"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50961,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44433\/revisions\/50961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Zapchenk\"](\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2014\/03\/Zapchenk.jpg\")
<\/a>In her various jobs working with senior adults (as music therapist, recreation director, volunteer coordinator, and adult daycare provider), Zapchenk encountered many individuals who were lethargic, non-communicative, or confused; and she was delighted to discover\u2014daily\u2014that the music therapy she provided was making a difference in their lives. Adding music to the equation always seemed to open doors in communication, and she loved seeing them \u201ccome alive.\u201d When she started playing the piano, the residents would often begin to sing the lyrics to the hymn, clap their hands, tap their toes, or nod their heads in rhythm. And she found that, for individuals with Alzheimer\u2019s Disease in particular, music therapy could provide a way to communicate with their families as well\u2014even without conversation.<\/p>\n