Cleveland Orchestra Musicians Share The Healing Power Of Music Through Video Performances

Cleveland Orchestra musicians have filmed a series of performance videos throughout Greater Cleveland for the Music Medicine Initiative.

Cleveland Orchestra assistant concertmaster Jessica Lee and her colleagues in the Orchestra created these videos to share the power of music with healthcare workers, patients, and the community affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This series of 7-10 videos will be released weekly on the social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and YouTube channels of The Cleveland Orchestra and Jessica Lee starting Monday, November 23rd.

This series is part of the Music Medicine Initiative: The Power of Music for Health and Well-Being, which is a community collaboration between The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Clinic's Art + Design Institute.

The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Clinic regularly work together to explore and activate the intersection of music and medicine in our local and global communities. Recent collaborations include the Salute to Healthcare Heroes (chamber concerts for Cleveland Clinic healthcare workers by Cleveland Orchestra musicians in summer 2020), performances by Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's (COYO) chamber music ensembles at Cleveland Clinic locations, and co-hosting Music & the Brain symposia in the United States and Europe.

"As the pandemic hit us, I saw the deep stress and pain experienced by frontline workers and those affected by COVID-19," said Jessica Lee. "There was also an enormous sense of isolation and a hunger for beauty around the world, so as I began this project I focused on the words 'community' and 'connection,' two things we are all especially longing for right now. This is what led me to film these videos in some of our beloved businesses in the Greater Cleveland community, to bring the joy of these places back into people's lives while we are less able to visit and enjoy them. Music has the unique power to unite and heal where words cannot, and it is my hope that through these videos, we will lift the spirits of healthcare workers, patients, and our entire community."

This Music Medicine video series merges the power and beauty of music with the art of science and medicine.

"I think we're barely scratching the surface in understanding how the arts, and music in particular, can help people heal," says Francois Bethoux, M.D., medical director of the Arts and Medicine Program at Cleveland Clinic. "Art and music therapists have been trailblazers in this exploration, to the benefit of patients with a variety of conditions. We now have emerging evidence showing that music, for example, has a deep impact on how the brain activates, even beyond areas of the brain linked with emotions."

The first three videos in the series include the following performances by Cleveland Orchestra musicians:

· Movement 3 from Debussy's String Quartet in G Minor, filmed at Luna Bakery in Cleveland Heights. Performed by Jessica Lee, assistant concertmaster (violin); Yun-Ting Lee (violin); Wesley Collins, principal viola (viola); and Dane Johansen (cello).

· Telemann's Concerto for Four Violins in D Major, filmed at Mitchell's Ice Cream in Ohio City. Performed by Peter Otto, first associate concertmaster (violin); Jung-Min Amy Lee, associate concertmaster (violin); Jessica Lee, assistant concertmaster (violin); and Stephen Tavani, assistant concertmaster (violin).

· Barber's Dover Beach (poem by Matthew Arnold), filmed at Alley Cat Oyster Bar in downtown Cleveland. Performed by Jessica Lee, assistant concertmaster (violin); Yun-Ting Lee (violin); Wesley Collins, principal viola (viola); Dane Johansen (cello); and guest vocalist Thomas Meglioranza (baritone).

The Music Medicine videos were produced by Joel Negus with assistance from Ron Boyko.

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