Music, Healthcare and Well Being

During the 2007-08 season, the Maia Quartet, in conjunction with the University of Iowa’s Music Therapy Department and other UI faculty will be promoting a series of events titled “Music, Healthcare and Well Being.” Ranging from public concerts and lectures to house concerts and awareness campaigns, these events will highlight music’s impact on our health and general well being and also will bring to the fore health issues that have impacted members of the Maia Quartet, their friends and family members. Some of the topics that are being explored include Breast Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Hospice Care and Hearing Loss. (Events in this series are listed on our concert schedule page.) Working on this project has shown us what we have always felt on an instinctual level; music can help us heal physically, mentally and emotionally. It has been a real privilege to work with the University of Iowa’s Music Therapy Department, which is one of the top departments in the country. They are doing amazing work and we would encourage you to learn more about this wonderful discipline.

We believe that music does make the world a better place and that it can provide solace and inspiration to those who are struggling with an illness. As part of the “Music, Healthcare and Well Being” project, the Maia Quartet, in conjunction with Lauren Reece Flaum, is working to raise funds for supplying iPods and Bose headphones for the Chemotherapy Suite at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa. The “Suite Sounds” project hopes to supply the forty-four chairs at the new HCCC Chemotherapy Suite with portable audio units to provide access to multiple genres of music, from classical to jazz, big band to meditation. The Quartet will be asking University of Iowa School of Music musicians and other Iowa City musicians to consider donating their CD’s for this purpose. We feel that this is one concrete way that our music can serve those fighting cancer and that we can have a tangible impact on our community. A donation of $275 would supply an iPod Shuffle and headphone set; a donation of $425 would supply an iPod Nano and headphone set. iPods can be engraved in honor of a friend or family member. If you are interested in donating to this project, please contact Beth Oakes (beth@maiaquartet.com). You can also look for information on our website over the next few weeks.

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