Medical Musician: A Storyteller in Sound
Presented by Andrew Schulman
Saturday, October 21, 3:30 PM
Livestreamed from the Performing Arts Center
95 Southern Eagle Cartway, Brewster, MA
This session led by accomplished professional guitar player and medical musician Andrew Schulman will explore the healing power of music in critical care units. He will share his inspiring personal story, including how music saved his life while in a medically-induced coma, critically ill and given very little chance of surviving. This experience inspired him to give back to the medical staff who cared for him by returning to the ICU as a musician and using music to help heal patients.
Mr. Schulman will discuss the history of music and medicine, and how music can affect patient outcomes and satisfaction. Additionally, he will explore how music helps medical teams by improving morale and alleviating burnout. During this presentation, he will illustrate various stories with his guitar playing.
Learn about:
- The positive effect of music and how it might support those undergoing medical interventions.
- The benefits of having a medical music program in a hospital, for both the patients and medical professionals.
Mr. Schulman was the medical musician in the Surgical ICU at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York from 2010-16, then played in the Surgical, Medical, and Neurosurgical ICUs at NYU Langone Medical Center in 2017. He had a monthly residency at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts from 2016 to 2020. In May 2019 Andrew Schulman began serving as a consultant to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center-Therapeutic Music in the ICU project for hospitalized patients. In September 2017 he became a professional member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the first musician to do so, and has spoken and performed at several national and international SCCM conferences. In 2020 he was appointed to a three-year term on the SCCM ICU Liberation Committee. In February 2020 he was appointed as Visiting Artist/Medical Musician with the Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program of Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Andrew and his wife Wendy Sayvetz are the subjects of the documentary film Andrew & Wendy, about his journey as a medical musician, which has been presented at international film festivals and aired multiple times on PBS-TV. He is the author of Waking The Spirit: A Musician’s Journey Healing Body, Mind, and Soul (Macmillan: Picador, 2016), a world-wide release. He and Wendy live in New York City with Phoebe, their Yellow Labrador Retriever.
Delve into a diverse array of subjects, from the rich history of the trumpet to the intricate nuances of baroque performance practice. Presented by esteemed experts and enthusiasts, each lecture is a gateway to expand your knowledge, ignite your imagination, and deepen your appreciation for the arts. Join us in celebrating the power of creativity and culture as we explore, learn, and connect.
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