The Hospice Music Project
The World Around the Bed: Songs of Hope and Healing available
How it all Started
During the 2018 Interdisciplinary Conference in New Orleans, Grammy Award winner Tricia Walker and hospice physician and musician John Mulder led a songwriting workshop that followed John’s keynote presentation. With the help of over 60 participants in the workshop, they captured the passion, poignancy, and purpose of the work that hospice and palliative care professionals do in providing care and supporting families. From that workshop, the song Joy in a Teardrop was created and performed live on stage by John and Tricia at the closing keynote session.
Following the IDC in New Orleans, Joy in a Teardrop was professionally recorded and formally released at the NHPCO Leadership and Advocacy Conference in April 2019. The song was synchronized with a series of photographs that had been submitted to NHPCO by members over the past several years – the impact was powerful.
Many have been touched by the images and the music, demonstrating the power of music and art to instill peace, foster healing, and reveal joy in situations that could otherwise be discouraging and even devastating. Hospice staff have experienced renewed commitment to and vigor in the work that they do, as this song reminds them of the deep value and positive outcomes in the care that they provide for their patients and families.
The song, Joy in a Teardrop, can be purchased through iTunes and Amazon, and streamed through Amazon and Spotify. All proceeds from the sale of the song support the National Hospice Foundation.
The Music Project is Born
Following the 2019 IDC, NHPCO decided to expand on this powerful experience and The Hospice Music Project was born. As part of the expanded project, John and Tricia produced the sheet music for Joy in a Teardrop that is available for providers to download and use in their communities.
To inspire new songs, hospice and palliative care team members, supporters, and advocates began contributing stories, thoughts, ideas, reflections… even possible lyrics and poetry about their work. This material was used to create an album of songs reflecting the power and inspiration of our work.
John and Tricia enlisted the assistance of GRAMMY-winning songwriters Beth Nielsen Chapman and Marcus Hummon to participate in the creation of new songs.
Into the Light
The second song in the project, Into the Light, debuted at the 2019 Interdisciplinary Conference in Orlando – again with photographic visuals provided by NHPCO members.
Into the Light
The second song in the project, Into the Light, debuted at the 2019 Interdisciplinary Conference in Orlando – again with photographic visuals provided by NHPCO members.
The World Around the Bed: Songs of Hope and Healing
In May 2020, a new collection of songs, The World Around the Bed: Songs of Hope and Healing, was released as a continuation of The Hospice Music Project.
Featuring 11 original songs created from the experience of hospice heroes from across the country, The World Around the Bed… reflects the joys, sorrows, difficult and challenging times, and even the lighthearted and humorous moments that are a part of life’s journey.
The album may be purchased through the NHPCO Marketplace Online. All proceeds from the sales are donated to the National Hospice Foundation to support hospice and palliative care providers to purchase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Donate online to support this important work.
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