ACE Award Metro West

Metro West ACE Award

Jeanie Brindley-Barnett

By Bryan Fisher

Photo: Jeanie Brindley-Barnett listens as Bryan Fisher speaks of her accomplishments.

Jeanie is Co-Founder and Senior Teaching Artist of MacPhail Music for Life™ (OR MMFL), a pioneering music program for adults 55+ at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. She established the original MMFL™ community partnership in 2005. Currently, there are more than 35 MMFL™ community partnerships throughout the Twin Cities area, led by over a dozen specially-trained MacPhail teaching artists and music therapists. Jeanie is to credit for this.

Jeanie is also the Artistic Director of Giving Voice, a chorus created for those with dementia, their care partners, and community volunteers. In 2014, the MacPhail Center for Music formed a strategic alliance with Giving Voice Initiative. Jeanie then created the artistic content for the “Giving Voice Toolkit,” a free online guidebook for those interested in forming their own dementia-friendly choruses or older adult community choruses. There are over 50 choruses throughout the US based on the Giving Voice model. Currently, Jeanie conducts both the founding Minneapolis chorus, the online Virtual chorus, and mentors music directors of their own Giving Voice model choruses.

So, how did this all get started? Jeanie launched the premiere MMFL™ older adult “Sing for Life” chorus in 2009 at Friendship Village of Bloomington retirement community where Stuart MacPhail resided. Stuart was the son of William S. MacPhail, founder of MacPhail Center for Music. At age 83, Stuart reached out to Jeanie for voice lessons to get his singing voice back into shape. He felt that his “pipes had gotten a little rusty.” Stuart invited a “few” of his friends to join him for his first voice session, and 75 enthusiastic lifelong learners joined him to “Speak Better! Sing Better! Feel Better!” The “Sing for Life” chorus was born and Jeanie continued as Music Director through 2019. From 2006-2016, Jeanie was Music Director of “LeagueAires” women’s chorus, which became the first MMFL™ community chorus partnership. From 1999-2011 Jeanie was a member of the voice faculty at MacPhail. She is a respected leader in the field of Arts and Aging, and is known for her work as a presenter, keynote speaker, teaching artist, mentor, consultant, and curriculum specialist.

Jeanie’s work has been recognized by ACDA, Chorus America, Minnesota State Arts Board, and many more arts organizations.She has appeared at Mayo Clinic, on Prairie Public Television, in the documentary “Love Never Forgets.” In 2018, Jeanie was awarded the national Chorus America ASCAP/Alice Parker Award on behalf of Giving Voice.

As a Composer Jeanie’s song cycle “Butterfly Songs” is a setting of poems by children imprisoned in Terezín concentration camp, from the highly acclaimed book, I Never Saw Another Butterfly. Her “Butterfly Songs” was the featured work at the Walker Art Center music series, at both the Minnesota Orchestra’s “Entartete Musik” Series, and in Prague at the annual “Music Festival of 20th-Century Music.”

Performances and commissions include: Angelica Cantanti, Bel Canto Voices, Calliope, Minneapolis Artists Ensemble, Minnesota Orchestra’s KinderKonzerts Young People’s Concerts, One Voice Mixed Chorus, St. Paul Civic Orchestra, Twin Cities Women’s Chorus, Valley Chamber Singers, and VocalEssence. And perhaps you remember Giving Voice’s stellar performance at last year’s Fall ACDA Conference.

Jeanie is a visionary thinker. She sees a need for something that doesn’t exist, and then she creates it. Thank you Jeanie, for all you have done, and continue to do.