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Mitchell Turk
On Aug. 20, 1964, The Beatles played at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the second stop on their first North American tour. In the sold-out crowd at this beachhead of the British Invasion was 9-year-old Mitchell Turk, who had already been playing guitar for two years. His grandfather secured the coveted tickets for him and his sister.
Amidst the amplified melodies and screams from enthusiastic teens, young Mitch had a realization: “Like a million other musicians in the ’60s, I wanted to be a Beatle.”
That didn’t come to pass—there were only ever four (or arguably five)—and Turk eventually gave up his rock star dream and went into the semiconductor business.
But Turk, who was born in Los Angeles and has lived in Oak Park for 31 years, continued to play guitar for the next six decades.
Now he’s working on a venture to bring live music to local audiences that would benefit from its therapeutic effects.
Turk’s project, based in Agoura Hills and called “Musician with a Heart,” intends to connect musicians with senior centers, hospitals and care facilities, where they can perform for people living with illnesses, cognitive impairments or intellectual disabilities.
Conditions including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, Down’s syndrome and autism are all responsive to the uniquely stimulating influence music exerts on the mind.
As Turk says on his website, www.musicianwithaheart.com, “Music is the gift that keeps on giving, and has the power to bring people together without consideration for anything other than pure love for the way the music makes you feel. Music heals.”
The idea for Musician with a Heart grew out of Turk’s love of playing live—his band Little Fish performed at local clubs and private parties, and he gigged with Northridge senior choir the Goldenaires—as well as his experience at ONEgeneration Senior Enrichment Center in Reseda.
Turk first went there with his father and soon got involved as a volunteer. About four years ago he started teaching classes on music and comedy, current events, and singing along to popular songs. One woman who attends his music class is 102.
Turk found that the benefits of sharing music in this way went in both directions, and was inspired to show other musicians the joy of playing for those whose appreciation goes beyond being entertained.
“I want to prove to them that when you give back to these people that need the music the most, it comes back to you tenfold in terms of the way you feel about yourself and life in general. It just makes you a very happy person,” he said.
“I want a hundred other musicians to do this in the Los Angeles area.”
He also wants them to make money for their work. Turk plans to build a company that will be able to pay performers once it secures enough funding. He’s putting up his own money to start, and looking to raise more.
Turk said he’s in touch with around 40 local musicians about the idea—he’s played with many of them—and has received much positive feedback from people who already perform at these kinds of facilities.
“Even animal shelters could use music right now,” he said, mentioning Agoura’s new Eastwood Ranch Foundation shelter, whose grand opening he attended. Music there could help attract potential adopters, as well as working its calming magic on the resident dogs and cats.
The project would not have to be limited to musicians. “Eventually I want comedians to come out to these places also, because I think that would be a one-two punch that they would love to have at those facilities,” Turk said. “So it’s a far-reaching venture, but I’m going to start small.”
His ultimate vision encompasses a residence for older musicians, along the lines of the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s retirement community in Woodland Hills. “This could be a whole new thing for the L.A. area, as far as musicians are concerned,” Turk said.
It isn’t what he imagined in the ’60s and ’70s, listening to the stadium-filling sounds of the Beatles and the Eagles, but it could be just as meaningful.
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