Spotlight on Our Facility Audiences: The Redwoods, A Community of Seniors

“The residents of The Redwoods truly treasure our long-standing collaboration with Bread & Roses.  The music you have brought enriches their lives and brightens their days, especially for those who find it difficult to get to live performances off campus. The wonderful monthly concerts for nearly fifty years bring joy and are something they always look forward to.”  Hunter Moore, Executive Director

Our spotlight on The Redwoods in Mill Valley is third in a monthly series highlighting our wide range of facility partners in honor of our 50th Anniversary. We have served The Redwoods nonprofit community of seniors since 1977, shortly after the founding of Bread & Roses by the late Mimi Fariña. It is an honor to serve their enthusiastic residents in independent and assisted living with a monthly concert series in their main auditorium as well as those in their Health Care Center.

Through the years we have experienced many memorable moments at The Redwoods. In collaboration with their Seniors for Peace Committee, we presented the renowned folksinger the late Pete Seeger in September of 2009 accompanied by his grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger. It was an eventful day, and Pete’s last concert in Marin County.

During the pandemic, we were invited to bring outdoor concerts to The Redwoods thanks to a special grant they received from the Harbor Point Foundation to provide a mobile stage for visiting musicians. This innovation allowed us to keep serving The Redwoods at various outside locations bringing music to the majority of residents who were sitting outdoors on their balconies and patios.

In past years, we also benefitted from a unique program at The Redwoods called Rock the Ages, a chorus of residents in their 80s and 90s who perform contemporary music -- mostly rock, some Motown and folk. This truly inspiring group received standing ovations for their Bread & Roses concerts at the former Whistlestop (now Vivalon), The Tamalpais as well as Vision Impaired of Marin. The health benefits of choral singing for those who are older have been in the media recently. We have also seen the benefits received by those in our audiences who experienced the joy of the songs energetically performed by the residents during these concerts. 

Many artists have performed for Bread & Roses through the years from Christina Waldeck and Alan Thomas who have adopted the Health Care Center for monthly concerts; to Matt Jaffe, the Oakland Jazz Choir and Mitch Woods. Recently the Americana band Marco & the Polos performed at The Redwoods with siblings Mick Hellman, Tricia Hellman Gibbs, Frances and Judith Hellman, leading the vocals with their four-part harmonies, which delighted the residents. 

It has been a privilege to partner with The Redwoods all these years. Their resident-driven programs and wellness model based on the whole person perfectly resonate with our mission of providing hope and healing through live music to those who need it most. For more info, visit www.theredwoods.org and www.breadandroses.org.

Marco & the Polos, featuring (l-r) Judith Hellman, Mick Hellman, Tricia Hellman Gibbs and Frances Hellman, perform for Bread & Roses at The Redwoods on Feb. 15, 2024.

Photo by Ken Friedman