Healing Muses
Mission Statement

Medical research as well as the musicians’ experiences have shown the benefits of therapeutic music in soothing patients, alleviating anxiety, and managing pain. Healing Muses is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization whose professional musicians offer this kind of healing music, played on harp and flute, to Bay Area hospitals, clinics, hospices, convalescent homes and other institutions providing care for the sick, handicapped and elderly.

Philosophy

The professional musicians of Healing Muses draw on a diverse range of music from classical, folk and various world traditions to create a peaceful sound environment conducive to the well-being of patients and staff. Their extensive experience allows them to choose music appropriate as a healing tool to promote relaxation, diffuse pain, and reduce stress during hospital stays and procedures. Both patients and staff experience the power of music to calm and soothe them in this noisy and tense environment.

The people we serve include in-patients on hospital floors, long-term residents who need round the clock care, out-patients in hospital lobbies and clinics, cancer patients receiving treatment, and many other groups.

History

Healing Muses started as a pilot project in 1999. During the Christmas season, flutist Eileen Hadidian and harpist Natalie Cox played on the surgery, medical and intensive care floors, and in the hospital lobby, of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, CA. Since then, the musicians have expanded their services to other local hospitals, including Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek and Antioch, Alta Bates/Summit Medical Centers in Oakland and Berkeley, UCSF/Mt. Zion Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, and Highland Hospital, Oakland. In 2002, Healing Muses incorporated as a nonprofit organization; Celtic harpists Patrice Haan and Maureen Brennan have since joined the team.

Goals

The purpose of Healing Muses is both charitable and educational:

1. Charitable
Healing Muses main project is providing music which ministers to the sick without direct cost to patients.

2. Educational
Members of Healing Muses offer lectures and workshops on the healing effects of music, and have been interviewed about their work in several journals, including the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, on National Public Radio, and in the Journal of the San Francisco Medical Society.

They have also recorded two CDs, Dolce Musica, a Contemplative Journey, and Reflections, Music to Soothe and Uplift the Spirit, which sample some selections from the music used in their work. Some are sold to raise money to fund Healing Muses’ activities, some are donated to spread healing music beyond hospitals to individuals in need.

Through performances, recordings and lectures, Healing Muses hopes to:

• Raise public awareness and educate hospital administrators and staff about the beneficial effects of music to their constituency;

• Research and develop a diverse repertoire of healing music from many cultural traditions which appeal to a wide audience. This is an ongoing activity and is continually evolving as the musicians explore different types of music and how they effect the listener. Currently they have a repertoire of Celtic, Renaissance and medieval melodies, American folk songs and spirituals, as well as music from various world traditions;

• Generate enough funding to enable the musicians to offer healing music as a community service to sites and organizations which have few or no resources to provide quality of life for their patients.

How to help

Healing Muses relies on broad-based support received from individual members of the community and from various public and private sources. Sources of income include: gifts, grants and contributions; fund-raising concerts; receipts from CD sales; matching funding from organizations served; and payment for services.

We welcome your tax-deductible donations and greatly appreciate our many generous supporters. Your gifts enable us to continue offering our healing music to individuals and organizations in need.

Please click on this link to make a donation.

Common Ground.