A ballroom, a luxurious penthouse and a rooftop garden are among the amenities listed on the Web site of Judson Manor, an upscale retirement community in Cleveland's University Circle district. Keep reading and you'll see that the same list of amenities also boasts a restored Bechstein piano and a Steinway grand.
These instruments aren't just for show. They're played regularly in recitals given by Judson Manor residents - old and, thanks to the community's intergenerational Artist-in-Residence program, young.
According to The New York Times, Judson Manor began its Artist-in-Residence program five years ago, when the nearby Cleveland Institute of Music was facing a student housing shortage. An institute board member knew Judson had vacant apartments at the time and asked if they might be used to house some of the institute's graduate students.
The result: Judson Manor's Artist-in-Residence program, which allows graduate students to apply to live in some of Judson's one-bedroom apartments free of charge, in exchange for performing for - and sometimes with - the community's older residents.
So far, the Artist-in-Residence program has given homes to seven students, including the three students who currently live at Judson Manor. The students get free room and board, plus opportunities to perform before an appreciative audience. The older residents get on-site concerts performed by advanced students at a world-renowned conservatory of music. And all of the residents have a chance to build friendships and bridge the generation gap.
An expert with the National Center for Creative Aging called Judson's Artist-in-Residence program "a bellweather for the future." And one older Judson Manor resident says the students' concerts help her "bear the burden" of the aches and pains of aging.
Read more:
- In Cleveland, Young and Old Keep Tempo of Life (NYT)
- New York Times Spotlights Intergenerational Lifestyle at Judson Manor (JudsonSmartLiving.org/blog)
