Darcel Rockett | Chicago Tribune
If you occur to stroll by the entrance doorways of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, close to Chicago, and assume you hear the Windows startup music, or the themes for Universal Studios or Warner Bros. being performed on the piano, don’t second guess it. Odds are it’s Guido Calcagno, registered nurse, warming as much as play melodies for sufferers, employees and guests.
Calcagno is likely one of the volunteer musicians who play dwell music for guests in Good Shepherd’s foyer Monday by Saturday.
When volunteer pianist Renee Mullaney is working the 88 keys within the foyer, she tends to maintain her eye on the entryway. If she spots a toddler coming into the hospital, she could play a Disney tune or “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” If a veteran walks in, she is going to play a patriotic tune. Her reasoning: Hospitals may be scary and intimidating, and if the individuals acknowledge a well-known ditty within the air, perhaps that one little factor will put them comfy.
“Since we’re in the front area there, I feel like the pianists are kind of ambassadors for setting a positive tone for Advocate Good Shepherd and sometimes we can be the face of the hospital,” mentioned Mullaney, a Cary resident who has been volunteering her musical expertise for 4 years. “Let’s face it, when you’re at the hospital, the joyful thing is babies. Otherwise you’re there to visit somebody that’s sick or you’re there for a test. … Every time I go and play, at least three or four people will walk by and you can see them snapping their fingers to the music. People stop and thank us for our efforts — for being there and bringing a little bit of comfort to what can otherwise be a stressful situation.”
Calcagno, 23, understands. He performs the child grand Kawai on his days off. Trained on piano since he was 4, the Deerfield resident began working at Good Shepherd in August 2021 and by October, he was regaling passersby with fashionable music and compositions that he penned. And it began when he overheard volunteer pianist Sue Schuerr play throughout a visit to the cafeteria. He launched himself, performed some music for Schuerr and she or he directed him to the hospital’s volunteer providers coordinator, Lynette Eeg, a clarinetist who auditions the music volunteers. The relaxation is historical past.
“I could get through maybe eight different songs when I’m playing,” Calcagno mentioned. “I play from a wide selection of music. I have my own compositions … about 10 different pieces that I can play from memory or improv. I like to think that music I’ve created really does invoke emotions or feelings. In my piano binder, I have music from TV shows — whether it’s Korean dramas, animé, intros from ‘The Golden Girls,’ songs from movies like ‘Interstellar,’ ‘Inception,’ and more modern classical music, pop songs. It also depends on how I’m feeling that day. Music is just as therapeutic as it is for my listeners. It helps me relax, contemplate and reflect on what could have happened the day before at work, helps me process.”
Calcagno, who balances a wide range of sufferers throughout his 12-hour workdays, says he all the time has time for music, and someday he’d love to assist on a movie rating.
Eeg mentioned there are at present 10 volunteer musicians, together with a flutist, who play 90-minute shifts. High schoolers, so long as they’re no less than 16, can volunteer as effectively. Interested events can fill out an utility. Magda Scanlan, Good Shepherd’s volunteer providers director, mentioned the workplace makes certain volunteers’ roles are aligned with their wants and passions.
Schuerr introduced e-book membership buddy Mullaney into the fold, and she or he ultimately introduced her mother, a piano instructor, to play duets along with her within the foyer. Schuerr, a retired English and drama instructor, laughs when remembering how she got here to play at Good Shepherd in 2016.
“My husband had knee surgery and I got a little bored so I started walking around, checking out the hospital and going toward the lunch area, I went ‘Whoa! A piano! This is terrific!’” she mentioned. She sat down and started to play. Schuerr requested employees if she may volunteer, and Eeg mentioned a place was created.
“We created the position because now we had this beautiful piano that people wanted to play,” Eeg mentioned. She and Schuerr agreed that none of it might have occurred had the donated piano been sufficiently small to suit by a convention room’s door as deliberate. When it couldn’t match, the piano discovered a everlasting dwelling on the hospital’s entrance entrance.
“It was a wonderful mistake,” Schuerr mentioned. “It’s been a blessing.”
She performs late mornings/early afternoons on Thursdays. She mentioned taking part in the piano at Good Shepherd has been good for her mind as a result of she tries to study two new items every week. Requests from sufferers have led her to learn to play Coldplay and the Ukrainian anthem. She performs hymns, songs of the season. She even made associates alongside the best way.
“I play Hanukkah and Christmas music. … I try to keep inclusion in mind,” Schuerr mentioned. “You look around and see who’s there and try to play for those people. I listen to Pandora. I listen to the radio and if I like a song, download it and play that. I don’t want to be bored with my own music. I definitely try to jazz it up and make it fun for people.”
Scanlan mentioned the dwell music “feels like you’re entering a truly healing space.”
“It’s a beautiful campus, but when you are hearing music, it just appeals to your other senses,” she mentioned.
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