Elissa Carmona of Morrisania is one of 10 recipients of a $20,000 grant from NYC Boss Up that will help grow her music-based wellness business, Sing with SOUL.
The grant, established in 2022, comes with ongoing small business mentorship and is open to recipients of NYCHA and Section 8 who participate in an annual pitch contest. Carmona, an Air Force veteran with a social work background and singer with the award-winning Morrisania Band Project, said she has applied for the grant in past years. “I am so exhilarated that I got it this time.”
Carmona described Sing with SOUL as “karaoke with a live band” specifically for seniors, offering an interactive experience that gets them singing, dancing and reminiscing.
As Carmona put it, the performers in Sing with SOUL “sing with you,” whereas when she’s with the Morrisania Band Project, “We perform for you.”
Music crosses all language barriers and evokes memories of times gone by, said Carmona. Better yet, it can bring any group of people to life.
“Music is therapeutic,” she said. “When you hear a good song, you’ll enjoy it with a stranger.”
Carmona said she is concerned about the Bronx’s senior population, which is growing rapidly but seems to be increasingly isolated.
About 14% of New York City residents age 65 and older live in the Bronx, and the borough’s senior population is expected to grow from 185,000 to 228,000 by 2040, according to a report by the New York Academy of Medicine.
The pandemic gave some seniors an opportunity to learn how to use tablets and other devices, and Carmona said she became well-known in the Bronx and Harlem by performing online during the lockdown period, in a series called “The Quarantine Edition.”
But performing in person and interacting with older adults is all the more rewarding, said Carmona. Since 2020, about 500 seniors have participated in Sing with SOUL.
With her winnings, Carmona plans to expand to set up residencies in at least two or three more senior centers, hire another teaching artist and “invest heavily” into marketing, social video and sound equipment — all aimed at improving the well-being of more older adults. “Music is a universal thing,” she said.
Fans of Carmona and the Morrisania Band Project can catch them on the first Friday of each month at The Artist on City Island.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
