By Miya Liu
A few weeks ago, Little Virtuoso Project and Melody Connects collaborated and organized the Music Therapy and Mental Health Workshop, presenting to passionate students and young artists across the nation. Here is a quick recap of the workshop →
The workshop on March 13, 2021 was led by Rayna Tsai, Aadarsh Nair, and Mingye Wang from Melody Connects along with Anjeli and Kimi from Little Virtuoso Project. Little Virtuoso Project consists of a group of high school and college musicians that are incredibly passionate about music’s power to bring people together and are deeply curious about how music affects the human brain. Melody Connects on the other hand is dedicated “to enrich the lives of others through the sharing of our musical gifts” by spreading classical and contemporary music to people in need” and allowing students to explore their passion for music through a variety of learning opportunities. As many experienced a rise of anxiety and the sense of isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Little Virtuoso Project and Melody Connects collaborated to present this workshop with the goal to provide a space to reflect on mental health, raise awareness about mental health issues, and educate others about the neuroscience of music.
The workshop was split into two components, the music therapy presentation and the mental health workshop. During the music therapy presentation, members learned about the positive impacts of music on human behaviour and cognitive development as well as the benefits of music therapy in addressing physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals” (American Music Therapy Association). After a quick break, participants discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals’ mental health and strategies to help cope with anxiety and pressure. Members were also able to explore and participate in some exercises including writing prompts such as “Identify things you are grateful for”, “List and describe your emotions from today”, and “Write a letter to your future self on a difficult day” to help relieve stress.
Through this workshop, Little Virtuoso Project and Melody Connects fundraised $125 for the Central Valley Covid-19 relief program. The fundraiser will continue after this event, so if you have friends/family members who may want to donate, please encourage them to do so:) Here is the link to the gofundme page: https://gofundme.com/f/melody-connects-and-little-virtuosos-project
If you want to learn more about the presentation, check out the slides below for more information!
LINK TO THE PRESENTATION IS HERE!! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eScgiW8Q1w_IgrPZN0NS6uT3zJsSqumOkww68UD-Qag/edit?usp=sharing
