When Sonja (Daniels) Zapchenk graduated from Augsburg in 1977, she hoped fervently to find work with teens and young adults in a psychiatric hospital setting, similar to the fascinating work she had enjoyed in her internship. Instead, the only job she could find was as a music therapist with elderly in a nursing home setting—not what she had planned. But it wasn’t long till she realized that was what she really wanted to do. Music therapy, she learned, was at the core of her being, and helping people with Alzheimer’s Disease was becoming her passion.
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—daily—that 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 “come alive.” 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’s Disease in particular, music therapy could provide a way to communicate with their families as well—even without conversation.
At 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.
Zapchenk chose Augsburg after some friendly urging from her mother, Sigrid (Kvenberg) Daniels ’48, and because of its highly regarded music program. She was thrilled to sing under “Doc” Sateren’s 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—by 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 “brunches” 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 “Sateren singers,” the many sustained and treasured friendships, and all the “really neat people” at Augsburg who have affected her life.