Some of you are aware that I just returned from China last week. While that was a great experience, it is not the special trip that is the subject of this post. Instead, the title refers to my trip to the Barnes-Jewish Hospital pharmacy late Saturday morning to pick up a prescription for Flint (my first and only husband). I was dressed in my usual Saturday morning attire of a baseball cap and walking duds since I had just completed my walking trek of the Forest Park bike trail (funny, how I still call it that even though there is a dedicated path for walkers/runners) and was looking none too wonderful. I planned to just rush in, get the prescription and rush back out -- hoping I would not run into anyone I knew. As I walked through the revolving doors I was met by the most awesome of sounds which I realized was the singing of warm-up scales. I continued walking and saw approximately 30 people (their backs to me and dressed almost as fancy as I was) singing in the lobby of the Center for Advanced Medicine. I walked a little slower because the beautiful sound (again, this was just scales) compelled me to listen. The sound wafted up to the third floor and everyone I passed had a hint of a smile on their faces. The staff working behind the pharmacy counter also seemed a bit more joyful (don't get me wrong, they are always helpful and professional, but there seemed to be something extra there on Saturday). I learned from one of the nurses who had accompanied a patient from outside of St. Louis to the pharmacy, that the group rehearsing was the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and they were going to perform on Sunday for patients and their families. The out-of-town patient shared how special he thought it was that the hospital would be so thoughtful as to have such an amazing group come in and entertain. Said he had heard Barnes-Jewish was special, but this was more than he expected.
I applaud the person or persons who came up with the idea of having the chorus come to sing and am so glad I was running an errand at just the right time. It was so neat to see patients, families and staff peering over the balcony to get a glimpse of those who were making such beautiful music -- even just in rehearsal. And, as I relunctantly left the building on Saturday, the words of "more than expected" uttered by the out of town patient echoed as music to my ears. "More than expected" is an apt reflection of what occurs when you take the world's best medicine and make it better.
7 comments:
The Symphony Chorus is amazing, I'm glad you got the serendipitous chance to hear them. I played with them a couple of times back in the days before design commanded all of my attention.
I'll bet the rest of your day was a little bit brighter!
Absolutely, it was! And what do you play?
I played bassoon, and assorted other woodwinds as needed. I was the St. Louis Philharmonic's contrabassoonist for about 20 years.
I have often thought how amazing it is that music has the ability to lift us up. I remember once being able to take my Mom to see Pavarotti sing. She cried almost through the whole thing and said it was the most wonderful experience of her life. She said the same thing when we would go hear my kids in grade school/middle school/high school sing and play with their bands. I'm glad you were there at the right moment to catch it.
Great to get some fabulous feedback on"Sundays at Siteman", a project to bring some healing on a day when not much is going on for patients at the hospital.Stay tuned for 1st Sunday of each month at 2PM for other groups,Nov is Wash U Dept of Music vocalists singing selections from Magic Flute and King and I. Deb Parks,B-J Medical Staff President
As evidenced by the comments, the power of music to move us is amazing.
Gary -- do you ever still play?
Dr. Parks, I will look forward to attending one of the 1st Sunday at Siteman concerts. Where is the schedule published? We should consider including on makemedicinebetter.org and bjc.org.
Unfortunately, when BJC formed I had to make a choice regarding where to spend my time, money and other resources. I did a significant amount of retraining to move from SLCH's creative to the new BJC Creative Services. As much as I loved performing, there was a negative ROI. Thanks to DJs and Karaoke, folks don't hire the bands and orchestras that pay musicians' everyday bills.
As much as I loved music, it wasn't sustainable. I'm happy that I found another artistic outlet that does.
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