Music Unites Staff and Veterans At Washington DC VA Medical Center

Chaplain Cheryl Jones joined the Washington DC VA Medical Center team in 2014, on a grant to help improve lifestyle interventions for Veterans. As a part of her spirituality program, she offered piano and guitar lessons.

“I am a minister, but I majored in music therapy in college and am a vocalist and musician myself. I wanted to share my knowledge to help Veterans develop self-fulfilling and therapeutic goals,” said Jones. ‘Once I started teaching, I opened it up to staff who showed an interest.”

Eventually, Jones’ lessons began to do more than just help Veterans focus on healthy goals, they began to connect people through a shared love for music. That’s when Jones had the idea to start a gospel singing group, which quickly evolved into something bigger.

“Staff heard about it and wanted to join, Veterans began recruiting other Veterans, and before long we had vocalists, guitarists, percussionists, base players and more,” said Jones. “That’s how the Spirituality and the Arts Players were born.”

The Spirituality and the Arts Players, or SAP, formed in 2016 and began playing at churches and Washington DC VA Medical Center functions. In 2017, the group was invited to perform at the Lincoln Memorial. They released an album through grant funding and were busy building their second when COVID-19 struck.

“To be prepared for any performance opportunity that might arise, we were rehearsing twice a week before COVID,” said Jones. “Though we had to meet in a variety of untraditional ways during the pandemic, including virtual music rehearsals and discussions, we never lost momentum.”

The group is set to release their second album this Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, during a release celebration at 7 p.m. EST, at Joe’s Movement Emporium in DC. Jones said everyone is invited to attend the outdoor concert where a small donation is requested, but not required. Guests can expect music from Stevie Wonder, Sounds of Blackness, Staple Singers, Leon Bridges, Marvin Gaye, and Curtis Mayfield. But the real treat is a few original the group had created together.

“This group provides staff and Veterans an expressive, creative, artistic way to tell their stories, and that can be therapeutic for them, as well as those listening,” said Jones. “We perform a song called ‘This Is My Country’ and it moves people to tears every time because these are Veterans, who have fought and sacrificed for this country.”

Jones sets the bar of excellence high for her performers, and says they meet her expectations every time. She promises a night of inspiration and upliftment for all in attendance at Saturday’s performance.

“I believe that God uses all kinds of music to speak to people and we have music that is therapeutic for anyone to listen to,” said Jones. “And if this performance inspires you to join, we are always open to new members, Veterans, or staff. We will welcome you into the SAP family.”

If you would like to join the Spirituality and the Arts Players, contact Chaplain Cheryl Jones at Cheryl.Jones5@va.gov.