{"id":68601,"date":"2020-07-07T13:16:19","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T17:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=68601"},"modified":"2023-08-02T17:32:28","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T21:32:28","slug":"feature-songs-in-self-isolation-delivers-music-grams-to-ease-lockdown-loneliness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2020\/07\/07\/feature-songs-in-self-isolation-delivers-music-grams-to-ease-lockdown-loneliness\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | Songs In Self-Isolation Delivers Music-Grams To Ease Lockdown Loneliness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Clockwise from top left l-r: Gemma Donn (Photo: Arshia Alexander); Morgan Paige (Photo: Ian Chang Photography); Daniel Tham (photo courtesy of Daniel Tham)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With so many unknowns about COVID-19, Toronto has been under rigorous social distancing measures for over a hundred days now since mid-March. We have been living in a drastically different paradigm \u2014 in a world where we can no longer touch, hold, or even be there with loved ones, leaving many of us in serious turmoil. In such times, new ideas arise, and Songs in Self-Isolation<\/a><\/span> has been helping families and friends reconnect across the distance through personalized music-grams.<\/p>\n

Gemma Donn, a violinist and a 2019 graduate of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, has always been interested in many different things, and as a student, she explored the world of science alongside her serious study in violin performance. \u201cWhen I was at University of Toronto, I took many elective courses such as physiology, psychology, anatomy and chemistry,\u201d says Gemma. Since graduating from her music program, Gemma\u2019s been working hard with a mixed-bag of interests; on any given week, it\u2019s been a full mix of teaching, performing, working and volunteering \u2014 and now she is planning to start her Masters of Education at University of Toronto in Fall 2020. However, thanks to COVID-19, everything came to a screeching halt one day; suddenly she was confined to home, with no more teaching in person, no more rehearsals and performances \u2014 she felt lost.<\/p>\n

Gemma also heard that all hospitals had stopped visits, which broke her heart. \u201cI have been volunteering as a Friendly Visitor<\/a><\/span> at Sunnybrook hospital, and I saw the way that patients\u2019 faces would light up when a visitor or family member would enter the room,\u201d says Gemma. Realizing this profound loss for long-term patients in isolation, she got in touch with Erin Di Lella, Volunteer Coordinator, and Amber Hall, one of the recreational therapist at Sunnybrook just to see what is possible.<\/p>\n

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Gemma Donn (Photo: Arshia Alexander)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the past, Gemma would bring her violin and play for the patients at the hospital; now faced with the new, Erin and Gemma first discussed the possibility of taking requests from staff, and performing songs as a thank-you to the frontline workers. However, when Erin saw Gemma\u2019s group performing a birthday medley, Erin had to ask Gemma for a birthday-gram. As a recreational therapist working directly with patients, Amber is keenly aware of the impact of isolation, especially for the Alternate Level of Care patients, whose lives were already in the limbo, pre-COVID-19. \u201cThe ALC patients are waiting for placement into long-term care, rehab, or to be well enough to return home,\u201d says Amber. And this is how it all began: Songs in Self-Isolation (SISI).<\/p>\n

Morgan Paige<\/a><\/span>, a classically trained pianist, jumped into the SISI right from the beginning. As an emerging artist, Morgan is currently focusing on contemporary, improvisation, silent film and pop\/jazz, and a chance to speak beyond the concert-norm as a minority was a welcome opportunity for her. \u201cWhat motivated me to pursue music was the lack of popular representation of black female queer pianists, and I wanted to show that someone like me can very well be part of this community,\u201d says Morgan.<\/p>\n

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Morgan Paige (Photo: Ian Chang Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Gemma, a newbie in video editing, it was a bit of a steep learning curve\u00a0\u2014 it took her an hour and a half to edit a 30-seconds video, trimming each track and syncing them together. But when she saw the reaction video from the patient, she knew that it was right: \u201cShe sang along with the video. When I would play violin in the hospital, she\u2019d often conduct alongside me as I played, so seeing her sing along with the video transported me back to that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon, Gemma received a list of consenting patients\u2019 birthdays, and knowing many of them personally, it felt natural to invite more musician friends to the project, to customize the videos. \u201cI remembered that some patients had played instruments in the past, and if they spoke any other language beside English,\u201d says Gemma. Soprano Rebecca Gray soon joined in, and they made their first collaborative Happy Birthday video as a trio. \u201cAfter we made our first Happy Birthday video for a patient, I felt that I had contributed to society in a positive way for the first time since the pandemic has started,\u201d says Gemma.<\/p>\n

Amber Hall, who is helping with the delivery of the music-grams, saw much joy from the patients firsthand. \u201cThis is a unique experience. We have an Italian patient who even had Happy birthday<\/a><\/span> sung to her in her native language. One patient used play the harp, and Gemma made sure to include a harp player in her birthday song<\/a><\/span>,\u201d says Amber. Once their traditional monthly shared birthday celebrations with music and refreshments for patients had become forbidden, she felt that the patients had lost a valuable social connection, and she is thankful that music, now on an individual level, is bringing back that special connection in enriching patients\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I would play violin in the hospital, she\u2019d often conduct alongside me as I played, so seeing her sing along with the video transported me back to that time.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unfortunately, Erin hasn\u2019t been able to see the delivery<\/a><\/span> in person yet. \u201cBecause I work from Odette and the patients are at Holland, I was unable to see the reaction of the patients when they received their video,\u201d she says. Erin asked Amber if patients\u2019 reactions could be recorded, and in seeing that footage, Erin realized that they could further incorporate the reaction video with the birthday-gram, creating a unique and beautiful gift for the recipients. These final video-grams are so special in Erin\u2019s eyes. \u201cDespite COVID-19, Gemma, one of our talented volunteers, was able to make a difference and put smiles on the faces of multiple in-patients from a distance. Volunteers are driven by a passion to give back, and Gemma didn\u2019t let isolation or COVID stand her way to doing just that.\u201d<\/p>\n