Dave Koz And Starlight Bring Holiday Cheer And Healing Music To Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Even with the best possible care, hospitalization can be a stressful and scary experience for sick kids and their families. Grammy-nominated saxophonist Dave Koz, known for his soothing jazz music and impressive career spanning several decades, performed a mini-concert for young patients at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) with the nonprofit Starlight Children's Foundation. The event spread holiday cheer and featured a Starlight Toy Delivery, providing children with positive distraction and emotional support through music and play.

According to Nicole Albers, MFT, artist program lead at CHLA, music therapy plays a vital role in healing, helping patients and families cope with hospital challenges or express themselves. Music therapists empower parents to sing to their children to help them relax when they're overstimulated or experiencing negative feelings. For older kids, playing instruments to create their own songs or building playlists to express their emotions are effective tools for enhancing emotional well-being.

“Walking in and seeing a fabulous person play a fabulous instrument, I'm just waiting for it to brighten their faces. And the holiday spirit that is going on in that room is just going to light up our families and make their day brighter. It's hard being here, but it's going to brighten them up,” Albers said.

To help transform the hospital experience into a special moment filled with holiday cheer and positive distraction, Koz, joined by pianist Todd Schroeder and saxophonist Austin Gatus, performed festive songs, paid bedside visits, and distributed a Starlight Toy Delivery to patients. Today's event also held a personal connection for the performers.

Koz was introduced to Starlight 31 years ago at CHLA through his friend and actress Emma Samms, who co-founded the nonprofit with her cousin and current board member Peter Samuelson.

“Well, having worked with Starlight for over 30 years now, it's been a wonderful relationship, and we've done so many wonderful things. We raised a lot of money, over $2 million for Starlight through our fan support network,” Koz said, “But today was a reminder, a really vital reminder of why we're doing this, to be able to come into Children's Hospital Los Angeles and see how it all really happens for kids and their parents. And to be reminded again, the struggles and what these people are going through and how heroic these kids are and their parents.”

“I've been playing the saxophone for over 50 years now, and I'm constantly humbled by what music can do to change energy, to provide hope and healing power. And for these kids that were in the hospital today and the staff, just to provide a little ray of sunshine that only music can do. And especially too, as an instrumentalist playing the saxophone, not attached to lyrics, being able to play instrumental music allows the listener to create whatever they want, to paint whatever they want. And today, I hope we've painted some smiles on some people's faces.”

Gatus is a cancer survivor and past Starlight Kid who personally experienced the impact of Starlight programs.

“I'm grateful to be a 15-year cancer survivor. Starlight Children's Foundation supported me and my family during my treatments. All these amazing events helped us take our minds off the treatments and hardships in our lives. So, just being out here today and getting to perform music to help other kids who are going through something hard meant a lot to me because I remember how much Starlight helped me when I was going through that,” Gatus said.

Koz visited CHLA right before starting his 27th Annual Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour, which ends on December 23 at Modesto. Koz added, “Nice for us, for Todd and Austin and I, to come and bring a little cheer, some holiday cheer to give out some toys and make some music for the kids. Hopefully imbued their spirit with little hope.”

In February, Starlight honored longtime supporter Koz and his executive assistant Janice De La Cruz with the Lifetime Achievement Award for their efforts in supporting the nonprofit's mission through various initiatives, including a charitable wine label, the annual Dave Koz and Friends at Sea, year-round donations, and more.

“It was it was a true honor for me to be able to present that [Lifetime Achievement Award] to not only Dave, but also Janice, who does so much of the heavy lifting in fundraising and the auctions on the cruise ships and, of course, at the Christmas tour each year,” said Adam Garone, CEO of Starlight. “To see the kids light up when they hear Dave play and when they receive Christmas gifts from Starlight just means the world to us. This is exactly what we do at Starlight. We deliver happiness. And we can do that through music and through gifts.”

Founded in 1982, Starlight Children's Foundation supported more than 3 million children in 2023, positively transforming hospital experiences by bringing joy to patients and making their journey toward recovery a little brighter. Hospital child life teams at CHLA and nationwide utilize Starlight programs, like Starlight Toy Deliveries, to provide play and emotional support to pediatric patients and families during a challenging time. Through productive distractions like gaming experiences, toy deliveries that unleash the power of play, and cheerful hospital wear in whimsical designs and characters, Starlight works with more than 700 U.S. healthcare facilities to deliver happiness to kids and their families in time of need. These programs are offered free of charge to pediatric facilities that are part of Starlight's nationwide healthcare network.

To learn more about Starlight ways to support its mission, community members can visit Starlight.org 

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