The Discovery Centre is excited to share the testimonies of Carleton music students who will be performing biweekly for patients at the Royal Ottawa Hospital (ROH).
Mauro Bertoli, Artist in Residence for Carleton University’s School for Studies in Art and Culture (Music) created the initiative, inspired by his time as a volunteer at the ROH. “I think it’s a great initiative, music reaches the hearts of everybody, and what is better than reaching people that are suffering and might extremely enjoy such an experience.”
Fourth year Music major Helen Liu shared that she is “hoping to brighten their day with my music” when asked about performing at the ROH. She was drawn to this opportunity because of her “strong passion for helping people that are suffering.”
Bertoli feels that students can greatly benefit from this experience. “Students can both have an experience as musicians performing in front of an audience, and at the same time share their skills with persons that have a different life, encountering a different reality that probably most of us are not aware of. For the patients at the Royal it’s a great opportunity to have some live music in their residence, meet the artists personally and talk with them after the performance, sharing with them their emotions or simply their questions.” His inspiring initiative will give several Music students invaluable performance experience.
Priya Shah, a fourth year Music major with a minor in Women and Gender Studies and Psychology shared “I love playing music for people! In the future I aspire to become a music therapist, so any opportunity where I get to play music for all kinds of people in various environments is a useful learning experience.”
If you are interested in being involved in this initiative, please contact mauro.bertoli@maurobertoli.com