Gertrude Létourneau, known to some as Trudy, is a flutist, pianist, singer and a therapeutic musician. During this episode, she tells many moving stories of the residents she has worked with in her many years working at Pearly Health. During the episode she frequently breaks into song and plays a variety of flutes as well as paints a vivid picture of the fulfilling role she plays working with veterans. We also spoke about her mentors Peter Wiegold, Jeffrey Gilbert, and Marie-Claire Séguin. This was an episode very much about going out your comfort zone, connecting with your audience, and learning to slow down and enjoy every day.

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Video and Transcript link: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/gertrude-trudy-letourneau

Gertrude's website: https://gertrudeletourneau.com/ photo credit: Dave Poulin

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(03:02) how Gertrude got into this work as a therapeutic musician at Perley Health, Performance and Communication Skills at Guildhall with Peter Wiegold

(08:12) making music with the residents, sing-along culture, Kohai Educational Center working kids with learning disabilities

(12:20) learning the repertoire, playing by ear, choosing themes, different aspects of the work at Perley Health

(16:01) difference between Music Therapist and Therapeutic Musician

(17:44) story about Lili Marlene and World War II veteran

(20:55) PTSD story

(25:56) J’attendrai ton retour with story

(28:53) developing as a singer, coaching with Marie-Claire Séguin, finalist in Ma première Place des Arts competition

(34:05) Audience engagement, talking to the audience and building bridges

(38:52) Jeffrey Gilbert

(41:58) childhood music and decision to pursue the flute

(46:35) dealing with grief and loss

(52:54) planning repertoire around themes

(55:36) coping with the COVID Pandemic in long-term care, online concerts with Concerts in Care and the Music Performance Trust Fund

(01:01:03) living in the moment, Québecois culture and La Bolduc, a musician’s last gig

(01:06:50) lessons learned

(01:16:33) Let Me Call You Sweetheart, creative challenges and going out of your comfort zone