Saving Souls, the Amazing Musicorps
This is the latest video about Musicorps, a program that gives (often very severely) wounded combat veterans the opportunity to play music. It’s the creation of a wunderkind in Washington DC named Arthur Bloom, a Juliard prodigy who has performed with some very famous musicians and written some very successful compositions, including movie scores. He took his profits and put them into Musicorps, which maybe, just maybe, is beginning to attract the attention it deserves.
A few years ago a nasty Washington Post journalist won a Pulitzer for writing about the things that go wrong at Walter Reed Hospital. I called it a classic example of reportage in which the facts are correct, but the story is false. Yes, things certainly go wrong at Walter Reed. Hell, they even go wrong at the Post. But miracles are performed at Walter Reed, where lives are saved, limbs are replaced, and, as in Musicorps, sometimes souls are freed from conditions that might very easily enslave them.
There’s a substantial literature about the curative power of music, but mostly it’s about listening to music. Arthur Bloom knows more: that playing music can truly liberate the suffering, and transform their lives. Some of these guys play rock, or country and western, or heavy metal. Others play the classics. Arthur has one guy who fell in love with Beethoven, and spends hours a day at the piano playing Beethoven, despite injuries that make the enterprise amazing. That guy was in a very dark depression. Playing Beethoven at Walter Reed brought him back to us.
Bach, too.
Watch the video. It will inspire you, I know. And there are plenty more. Before the Feds get all your spare change, send a bit to Musicorps. It’s soul music.
When I took my now-wife out on our first date many years ago, I had to ask her to remind me what her job was (at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta). When she responded that she was the hospital’s Music Therapist, I had to suppress my initial engineer’s reaction: “That’s a pretty fru-fru job.”
Then at dinner, she told me about how that day she’d asked a coma patient’s mother about the kid’s favorite song. Beth picked up her guitar, started playing that song, and the kid woke up from the coma singing the lyrics back to her.
Suffice to say, that was the point when I stopped making fun of music therapy…
Thank you very much Mr. Bloom Hand Salute you sir
Music not only has charms to soothe a savage breast, but to heal it, too. Thank you for knowing that, Mr. Bloom.
Dear Michael, thank you very very much for supporting these “True American Heroes.” These guys are worthy of ALL great respect on this planet. Damn on terrorists and on everyone who accomplice with their masters! But, but I wonder, in the case of pissing on the enemy dead bodies, you will see the page FULL of pride and gratitude comments…but today, and very sadly they are in a different situation. Yes, they are really a great inspiration for us. but on the other hand, also they need our inspiration and our support. alas!
May God Bless them and their families, and Bless everyone defends freedom!
“There’s a substantial literature about the curative power of music, but mostly it’s about listening to music.”
Yes, music has a profound effect “physiological and psychological” on us. It is the food of our soul, and it is the food of love;) because it reflects our feelings, emotions and mood.
In the medical field, before the discovery of effective surgical anesthesia and prior to the advent of effective anesthetics; music used as an anesthetic catalyst during surgery and still use as assistance factor to dilute the pain postoperative because it help to reduce the psychological and physiological stress levels.
Thanks for posting this. Didn’t know anything about it before. I gave a little. Yo Yo Ma. Great guy evidently.
thank you.
Great piece and article, Mr. Ledeen.
God Bless, merry Christmas to you and yours.
Most Excellent Program !
This is what makes a wealthy soul.