`MUSIC SPEAKS': MUSICIANS TAKE TALENTS TO A HOSPITAL

Classical music in hospital corridors offers a change of pace for patients and their families plus a performance opportunity for musicians unlike others.

Concerts are being performed at Southeast Missouri Hospital thanks to a new program, "Hospital Audiences," introduced by Southeast Missouri State University's department of music.

The first concert was held Wednesday at Southeast's cancer nursing unit. Heidi Bergman, a new faculty member in the music department at Southeast who teaches violin, viola and chamber music, introduced the idea here.

"I moved here from the New York City area and was looking for a way to get more involved in the community and to get music students involved," Bergman said.

She said similar programs are common at hospitals in New York but new to Cape Girardeau.

Performances in the hospital setting provide mutual benefits for musicians and patients, said Bergman.

"People (in the hospital) are under terrible physical and emotional stress," she said. "They need comfort and solace."

Bergman participated in a similar program in New York as an artist. "People are so genuinely supportive and a little more appreciative sometimes when their health is in danger. They appreciate the beauty and comfort and support that music offers.

"It's also nice for the staff," Bergman said. "They are often very stressed and are faced with life-or-death decisions. A little break in their routine can make them feel a little better."

Musicians, she said, sense these feelings. "It's a really positive experience for the students. When you give your time and get this kind of response, it's a wonderful feeling."

A poet once wrote, "Where words fail, music speaks." Music has been proven to have some therapeutic value.

"I think it's true; music can break down barriers that words just can't," Bergman said.

"Music therapy has been used as a legitimate tool for austic children and adults to reach them," she said. "It's also been used with comatose patients to try to reach them."

She said the Hospital Audiences program is not designed as music therapy, though.

"We can offer a little comfort and beauty while they are in the hospital and take their minds off their troubles for a while," Bergman said.

She added that many people may not have had an opportunity to hear classical music performed.

Karen Hendrickson, assistant administrator for patient care at Southeast Missouri Hospital, said: "This is one more opportunity for a business to work with the university and tap into the talent that is on the campus. It provides some relief emotionally to patients and their families by being able to listen to the music of young people."

She said employees may attend the concerts during their breaks.

"It can provide a break from the normal, customary activities and time out from an intense work environment," Hendrickson said.

The concerts will be held in patient care areas throughout the hospital.

The first performance was by a student string quartet, two violins, viola and cello.

Bergman hopes to offer a variety of different performing groups at the hospital during the year, including opera, light musicals, song recitals and a jazz ensemble.

The one holdback, Bergman said, is that Southeast Missouri Hospital has no piano.