Edden L. ’26 and Tin K. ’27 are using music to connect across generations.
They’re doing so through Link-age, a youth-based organization that performs instrumental music at local senior centers.
Edden, who plays violin, founded Link-age in the summer of 2023. After playing in his youth orchestra for six years, he “always felt that there was something missing and wasn’t doing a lot with [his] music.” So, he quit and began Link-age.
“It’s a way to bring [the seniors] company while also bringing them great music. The beauty of the connection really happens in the conversations after the performance,” Edden said. “I encourage all performers to stay after performances to chat with the seniors, and it’s really sweet getting to know them, to remember their names, and to see them come back every month and catch up about their lives.”
Over the organization’s two-year history, Link-age has hosted around 50 performers—both Nueva and non-Nueva students—and performed at 15 different senior centers. Today, they perform every Sunday, cycling through four centers on a monthly basis: The Ivy in San Francisco, The Trousdale in Burlingame, Atria in
Foster City, and Oakmont in Redwood City.
“We’ve built a lot of rapport with the staff [of these senior centers], and along the way, we’ve created regular audience members too,” said Tin, the Peninsula Manager. “They often don’t remember talking to us because a lot of them are in memory care, but we are still able to create some sort of impression on them.”
Recently, Link-age completed their annual holiday tour over winter break, where they toured senior centers in San Francisco and performed carols.
“On our last performance of the day, we were all kind of weary. But as soon as we started ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas,’ we had a whole crowd of seniors singing every single word right back at us. It was really touching,” Tin said. “We ended on ‘Jingle Bells’, and everyone got together to sing. The sheer volume made it feel like the room was about to burst open. It was one of those moments where I was like ‘wow, we definitely made an impact here.’”
That impact—for the seniors and students—goes both ways. Edden has gotten to know several regulars over the years: Cathy, a San Francisco native who lives in San Mateo and dearly misses the city but always looks forward to Edden’s rendition of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco;” Elizabeth and her dog Chiquita, who love “Hallelujah;”, and Grandma Gigi, a former music teacher who always plays the piano after each performance.
These were just some of the “many stories and personal connections” made through Link-age, according to Tin. Link-age hopes to further their central value of fostering community through more recruitment next year.
“There’s a joy you get from picking out a duet, practicing it in the Nueva’s tiny practice rooms, and then getting to perform it. There’s another joy from seeing that your music is actively making people happy,” Tin said.
For Tin, Link-age has had an especially powerful impact on not only building community, but also her own journey with music.
“The community I found at Link-age, both in the other musicians and in the people we were performing for, helped me rebuild my love for piano. Making connections through music is so much easier than you think.”
