For Amy Kopfmann, music therapy is more than a profession. It is a way to help Cedar Community residents and families find comfort, connection, and meaning during some of life’s most difficult moments.
As a music therapist at Cedar Community, Amy supports residents through group programs, one-on-one visits, spiritual care, and end-of-life experiences. One of the most meaningful ways she does that is through a personalized legacy project that combines a resident’s recorded heartbeat with a song chosen by their family.
The result is a keepsake designed to preserve both memory and connection.
Creating a Lasting Memory Through Music
Amy first learned about legacy projects during her internship.
She saw families creating tangible keepsakes, including fingerprint artwork and other handmade mementos, and began thinking about how she could bring her own musical background into that work.
Amy purchased a heart-recording stethoscope and began experimenting with a way to combine a recorded heartbeat with music.
“We all come into this world hearing the rhythm of our mother’s heartbeat, and it’s at the center of who we are,” Amy says. “What better way to remember someone, as well, after they are gone?”
Turning a Heartbeat Into a Song
Once Amy records a resident’s heartbeat, she carefully isolates the rhythm from surrounding background noise.
The heartbeat becomes one musical layer. On another, Amy records her voice and guitar performing a song selected by the resident’s family.
The finished piece is shared as a digital recording.
Families also receive a customized shadow box displaying a visual printout of the heartbeat alongside personal mementos that reflect the individual’s life.
No two are exactly alike.
For Cedar Community resident Tom Hanson, the shadow box even included Play-Doh Oreos, one of his favorite treats.
Supporting Residents and Families at End of Life
Amy works closely with Cedar Community’s spiritual care team and Commonheart Home Health and Hospice to support residents and families during end-of-life experiences.
Her connection to this work is also personal.
Amy lost her sister to cancer 10 years before this story was published and understands how meaningful a lasting connection can be for a family after a loved one dies.
“We didn’t know about these kinds of things when my sister passed,” Amy says. “The options we did know about, like fingerprint necklaces, were quite expensive. I just thought there had to be a better, more accessible way to give families something that lasts.”
That experience helped shape Amy’s desire to create personalized legacy projects for the families she serves at Cedar Community.
Continuing to Grow as a Music Therapist
Amy continues to expand her knowledge and skills as a music therapist.
She was a 2025 Cedar Community Carl Ziegler Education Scholarship recipient and has continued her education with coursework in sound therapy.
For Amy, continued education is another way to deepen the support she can provide to residents and families through music, sound, and meaningful connection.
Music, Comfort, and Connection Across Cedar Community
Amy’s work extends far beyond end-of-life care.
As a member of Cedar Community’s life enrichment and spiritual care teams, she works across the community leading drumming groups, visiting individually with residents, and using music to support emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
Her work with legacy projects is one example of how those roles come together in deeply personal ways.
It is also supported in part by donations from people whose lives have been touched by Cedar Community.
Donor support helps make services such as spiritual care, massage, and music therapy available to residents and families.
A Heartbeat That Lives On
Amy credits the Cedar Community team with giving her the encouragement and freedom to explore new ways of supporting residents and their loved ones.
Through music, she helps create moments of connection in everyday life and lasting memories during life’s most difficult transitions.
For the families who receive one of Amy’s legacy recordings, a familiar heartbeat can continue to carry meaning long after the song ends. Originally published in the Winter 2026 issue of Live More magazine.
