MELODIES OF COMPASSION
Calling all musicians — there’s a spot in the ensemble for you!
The UF Health Staff Music Ensemble, a part of UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine, made its grand debut in May 2016. Since then, the program has allowed faculty, staff and students to collaborate through the sound of music.
Primarily made up of string instruments, the UF Health Staff Music Ensemble is hoping to expand into a full orchestra. They are looking for recruits — faculty, staff, volunteers, alumni and students — who have had some form of musical experience and can read sheet music. The ensemble usually performs at least once every semester.
The program is led by Ferol Carytsas, M.M., lecturer and undergraduate adviser with the UF Center for Arts in Medicine. Carytsas hopes to recruit 20 people for the group.
“The ensemble started with two musicians and has grown to as many as 12,” Carytsas said. “Our primary performance venue has been the UF Health Shands Hospital Atrium, but we have also been able to go into the community and perform at Oak Hammock.”
Carytsas got the idea for the ensemble from similar programs at other medical centers.
“There are a lot of studies that show how music improves well-being,” Carytsas said. “It’s about building community and coming together in a creative and nonthreatening environment.”
As a group, the ensemble decides what pieces they will play, with songs ranging from light classical and pop to Disney tunes, oldies and more.
“The UF Health Music Ensemble is an amateur ensemble,” Carytsas said. “But we are a dedicated and supportive community where every musician has a voice.”
Maria Kuge, an ensemble violinist, is a UF student who is currently working toward a combined bachelor’s degree in music with a Master of Arts degree in Arts in Medicine. She has been in the ensemble for two years and got involved while looking for ways to be active within Arts in Medicine
Linda Morris, M.S.N., R.N., NE-BC, a UF Health Shands Hospital SAGE registered nurse, was the program’s first “recruit.” Morris has been playing the cello with the ensemble since the beginning and says she likes performing with the group because it gives her the chance to make music for patients.
“The music we’re playing is fun and accessible to both ourselves and our audience,” Morris said. “I really enjoy playing with other employees, and I know there are many others in the organization who are musically gifted. I encourage them to check it out.”
Visit the UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine website at artsinmedicine.UFHealth.org for recruitment forms or contact Carytsas at fcarytsas@arts.ufl.edu for more information.
