By Taryn Plumb | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
JUNE
05, 2014
MARK
LORENZ FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
In
a room on the telemetry unit at Lawrence
General Hospital,
there came a quiet knock at the door.
A
petite 17-year-old entered with a violin, and was heartily welcomed
by two patients watching television.
“The
band is here!” one quipped as Esha Bansal raised her bow and
proceeded to play a lively Irish jig.
The
two men smiled, clapped, and tapped their feet clad in hospital tread
socks.
“That’s
the best thing that’s happened since I’ve been here,” one of
the patients, Joseph Vernile of North Andover, said after her song.
“It’s uplifting, gives you something to think about instead of
just laying here.”
A
hospital may be the last place you would expect to hear live music,
but, according to MusicMDs,
it should be one of the first.
“It
brings a new dimension to patient interaction — removing
traditional barriers of language, education level, culture, race, and
socioeconomic status,” said Bansal, a junior at Phillips
Academy in
Andover. She and her brother started the nonprofit, all-volunteer
musical outreach program in Florida — where their family lives —
in 2009.
Music
has long been considered a holistic form of healing; it’s believed
to promote well-being and happiness, reduce stress, boost immunity,
alleviate pain, enhance memory, promote physical rehabilitation, and
reduce depression, fatigue, and blood pressure, among other benefits,
according to the nonprofit American
Music Therapy Association.
Bansal
and her older brother, Varun, both musicians from a young age, became
intrigued by the idea after seeing how their violin playing affected
their grandmother as she was fighting cancer.
“We
noticed changes in her mood and her outlook,” recalled Bansal, who
started playing violin and piano at age 7.
That
inspired the siblings — just 13 and 15 at the time — to form
MusicMDs, starting with a pilot program at Holmes Regional Medical
Center in their hometown of Melbourne, Fla.
Since
then, the program has broadened to three hospitals in Florida, as
well as one in Houston, with music provided by high school and
college students. Bansal started up the Lawrence General Hospital
chapter, which now has seven members (all Phillips Academy students),
in December 2012.
Lawrence
General volunteer coordinator Brenda LeBlanc said Bansal approached
her about the program just as the hospital started exploring ways to
incorporate music.
In
the 17 months since then, students have given 35 performances in
eight areas of the hospital, according to Bansal.
And,
as she and her fellow performers noted, the reactions and feedback
have been overwhelming. On a hospital
testimonial page,
patients, staff, and family members have expressed gratitude and
encouragement, called them angels and treasures, and said their music
has been like a cure, offering them a new lease on life, turning
their days around. Many have even been moved to tears.
“All
the practice I’ve ever done, all the lessons and rehearsals, all
that effort is worth it when you’re able to bring joy to someone
through the simple act of playing,” said 17-year-old violinist
Evelyn Liu. It “not only brings entertainment and joy to the
patients, but also allows musicians to share their love of music with
others in a way that is constructive and beneficial.”
Plus,
it provides an unusual space for the young musicians to sharpen
skills and learn about life.
“Besides
becoming a better musician, I have learned how to communicate
better,” said violinist Alphonse Le, 17. Performing for the
hospital patients has “helped me gain a deeper sense of
understanding about the human connection.”
The
hope is to expand the program; because it’s free and
volunteer-based (and there are no shortages of musicians in any given
city), it can easily be replicated, Bansal said.
“I
get a lot of gratification,” she said. “I enjoy talking to
patients and their families, playing for them. I’ve gotten to
interact with thousands of wonderful people.”
On
a recent Saturday afternoon, with violin case and collapsible music
stand in hand, Bansal headed up to Lawrence General’s fifth-floor
telemetry unit, which is for patients requiring heart monitoring.
Polite,
polished, and dressed in black, she stopped at the nurse’s station,
then set up her stand and removed her violin from its case.
She
started with Violin Concerto in G major by Joseph Haydn, playing for
Lebanon native Nazek Chatila, seated outside her room with a walker.
Chatila’s
daughter, Ferial Blaik, stood beside her mother, rubbing her hair as
Bansal played, encouraging her with, “You like that?”
“Nice,
very nice!” Chatila exclaimed when Bansal finished.
“It’s
wonderful,” said Blaik, of Salem, N.H., noting that her son played
piano for her when she was going through an illness. “It’s great
for the patients.”
Bansal
continued through the roughly 40-bed unit, lightly knocking on doors
and asking whether patients would like to hear some music. Most
agreed, greeting her performances with claps, smiles, and sincere
thanks. (And a few family members even took video of her on their
smartphones.) On more than one occasion, she relied on her Spanish to
converse, and ended each piece with a bow and a wish: “I hope you
get well soon. Have a great day.”
For
patient John Michaud of Lawrence, she launched into the sprightly
fiddle song “Devil’s Dream.”
“You
were very good!” Michaud, with long white hair and matching beard,
dressed in a hospital johnny, said when she was done.
Eager
to talk, he told her he started drumming at age 7, and was in a band
as a teenager. “I was the youngest drummer in Lawrence,” he said
proudly.
“Music
is very special,” he continued. “Music is beautiful for
everybody. It makes you feel good; you make other people feel good
too.”
That
sort of interaction beyond the music is an integral part of the
program, LeBlanc explained.
“She’s
not just playing, she’s talking to them,” LeBlanc said. “It’s
a wonderful gift she’s giving the patients.”
Meanwhile,
down in the lobby, 15-year-old pianist Tim Ossowski was set up next
to floor-to-ceiling windows as the Saturday afternoon light streamed
in.
As
he played some Chopin etudes on a Yamaha electronic piano, patients,
nurses, and visitors coming in and out stopped, if only for a moment
or two, to listen; others sat for a bit to watch him play. As he
finished each piece, he was met with a small round of applause.
“He’s
doing a great job,” one nurse remarked as she wheeled a patient
outside. “He’s relaxing me.”
“That’s
pretty much all I’m going for, is to cheer them up a little,”
Ossowski said during a break. “It sets up a nice atmosphere in a
hospital.”
Original
story link.
Additional photos by Mark Lorenz for the Boston Globe.
©
2014 BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC
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