Dolce Musica - A Contemplative Journey [play hifi lofi] [license] [buy]

Music for Healing is a program designed by Eileen Hadidian and Natalie Cox to create a peaceful sound environment for hospitals, clinics, hospices, convalescent homes, retreat centers and homebound individuals. Using a combination of medieval, Renaissance, Celtic music, and American folk, Music for Healing promotes relaxation and reduces anxiety during stressful hospital stays and procedures. Patients and staff experience the power of music to calm and soothe in a noisy, high-anxiety environment.

Music for Healing began in 1999 at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Oakland, CA. Organization founders Eileen Hadidian and Natalie Cox offered a pilot program to play on the surgery, medical and intensive care floors, as well as in the hospital lobby. It's a non-profit organization and is supported by grants and donations, which provide funding to bring healing music to local hospitals. All donations are tax-deductible.

Eileen Hadidian has appeared in concert throughout the Western United States. She was the founder and artistic director of Hausmusik, an early music concert series in Albany, CA. Her involvement with music for healing grew out of her own experience with breast cancer, in 1994 and again in 1997. She used music for her own healing, and began to play for other cancer patients. She has been exploring ways in which music can be used to help soothe critically and chronically ill people.

Natalie Cox is principal harpist with the Oakland East Bay Symphony and performs throughout the Bay Area as a chamber musician as well as for TV and film. Her earliest public appearances were for people in informal settings, at fairs and in hospitals. She continues this work, believing fully that there are more places for live music than on stage.