Culture
Area Hospice Debuts Music Program
< < Back toOn this edition of Conversations from Studio B, host Milena Miller talks and performs with Gay Dalzell and Celia Lewis of the Appalachian Community Visiting Nurse Association's Hospice Musicians Program.
The Hospice Musicians Program is a new addition to the ACVNA, though the program has been in the works for nearly four years.
The program takes a holistic approach to health care–that music can sooth the soul and work to relieve both physical and spiritual pain.
The ACVNA was awarded a $50,000 Epstein Teicher Philanthropies grant to implement the Hospice Musicians Program. With that money, the ACVNA was able to bring aboard Dalzell and Lewis to deliver "their gift of music" to local hospice clients, said Miller.
Dalzell plays the Appalachian mountain dulcimer, a traditional three or four-string instrument held in the lap of the performer. Lewis plays the harp, and both Lewis and Dalzell sing.
On this show, Miller, Dalzell and Lewis perform the hymn "I’ll Fly Away" and Lewis performs a handful of solo harp selections.
The trio also discuss their inspiration in creating the music program, the effects music can have on the hospice client and share some inspirational stories that speak towards the power of music.
For more information about the Appalachian Community Visiting Nurse Association, visit www.acvna.org.