A free intergenerational musical program is making its return to the Port Townsend community and after a local intermission of a number of years it’s welcoming everyone from grade-schoolers to senior citizens to take part in a series of activities throughout October.

Songwriting Works got its start in California more than three decades ago. By 2009 it had branched into Port Townsend, where it remained active until the one-two punch of a passing and a pandemic sent it into a pause.

Daniel Duane “3D” Deardorff had been instrumental in administrating Songwriting Works in the area, until he died on Sept. 19, 2019, at  67. Then  came the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020, which made it even less feasible to continue the program.

Deardorff’s life partner, Judith-Kate Friedman, is serving as a facilitator for the October revival of Songwriting Works in Jefferson County. It will be held at the Quaker Friends Meeting House at 1841 Sheridan St., as the program conducts Community Music Teams from 2-4 p.m. on the Wednesdays of Oct. 8, 15, 22 and 29.

“Songwriting Works has still been going strong nationally,” Friedman said. “We’re just welcoming it back to Port Townsend.”

Friedman invites participants aged “8, or younger, to 85, or older,” to play musical games that have been designed to expand their learning, listening, improvisation and memory skills, thereby “igniting their creativity, confidence and courage.”

Friedman cited studies which have identified connections between making music and various health, wellness, “psycho-social” and neurocognitive benefits that this process can yield.

“We’ll be teaching the science of why making music is so powerful for all ages of human beings,” said Friedman, who was part of Songwriting Works’ founding in the local area, who will also serve as the “lead instigator” of the music teams. “Research confirms that music helps improve communication, and can also lift depression, reduce pain, and grow both social and neural connections, thereby strengthening memory.”

Beyond merely developing its participants’ musical skills, Friedman looks forward to sending its intergenerational Community Music Teams of students out into the broader Port Townsend community to serve as volunteer “musical instigators.”

“They’ll be asked to bring musical games, prompts and factoids to family, friends and neighbors, who are either 20 or more years older or younger than themselves, before returning to the following week’s classes to debrief, learn more and celebrate together.”

Friedman touted this program’s format as intentionally “flexible, inclusive, joyful, and respectful of diverse musical traditions, cultures, genres of music and, of course, generations,” right down to its ADA-accessible venue at the Friends Meeting House.

And while the October program is designed as a series, Friedman invites the community to attend as they’re able, provided there’s room, since she’s also anticipating enough demand that she also recommends registering in advance.

“Music is a lifeline for people, from their youngest years on up to the end of their lives,” Friedman said. “But not everyone has the ability to jam out musically with a group of friends. This allows groups of people to get to know each other as new friends. And yes, even things as simple as social engagement and incremental mastery of an artistic skill have been proven to have multiplying effects in boosting our mental health and even our immune systems.”

This program is free of charge, made possible with support from Port Townsend Arts Commission, ArtsWA and Allen Family Philanthropies, administered through ArtsFund.

Learn more at songwritingworks.org/musicteams2025.