Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program’s partnership with Houston Symphony lifts patients’ spirits

May 16, 2017

The moment Hellen Weberpal’s bow hit her cello, 13-month-old Kimberly Guerra was mesmerized. The little girl shot up in her seat in her inpatient room on the ninth floor of the Cancer Center and watched Weberpal as she played her instrument. During the 10-minute serenade, Kimberly smiled, giggled and clapped in joyous wonder.

Weberpal, a Houston Symphony Community-Embedded Musician, said she has had many experiences at Texas Children’s similar to the one she had with Kimberly.

“Every time I come to the hospital I enjoy it,” she said. “There’s never a day that I don’t have a good time getting to see these kids.”

Weberpal is one of four community-embedded musicians who come to Texas Children’s Cancer Center weekly as part of a partnership between the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers and the Houston Symphony. During their visits, the string players perform at the bedside of inpatients, lead a small music education class with patients and their siblings, and work with Purple Songs Can Fly to create unique scores tailored for each child.

View photos below from some of the musician’s visits.

The purpose of the partnership is to expose children to classical music and give them a sense of normalcy they often don’t get in a hospital setting, said Emily Nelson, the manager of education and community programming for the Houston Symphony.

“One of the benefits we’ve heard from the hospital staff and families is that the musical interactions give the patients a sense of control,” Nelson said. “They get to choose if they want slow music, fast music or even no music at all.”

When Weberpal visited 8-year-old Eduardo Castro’s hospital room, he asked her to play something fast, something slow and then something very specific – the music played in Star Wars when Darth Vader is on screen. Weberpal delivered Eduardo’s request without a hitch, concluding her visit with a smile and a high five.

“I’m always happy to meet another Star Wars fan,” Weberpal said.

Through observations, Carol Herron, coordinator of the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program, has noticed the encounters between the musicians and the patients are much more than a show-and-tell type performance.

“There’s a connection that these musicians make,” she said. “That is what makes these relationships so special.”

To learn more about the Houston Symphony’s Community-Embedded Musician initiative, click here. To learn more about the Periwinkle Arts and Medicine Program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, click here.