Music can have a profound effect on health and well-being. It's been shown to ease pain, induce relaxation, reduce anxiety, and help heal.
On May 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Manchester Community Library, Guitarist Eric Despard will share his journey in becoming the first trained Medical Musician under the tutelage of founders Dr. Marvin McMillen and Andrew Schulman, CMM (Certified Medical Musician), author of "Waking the Spirit". His talk, The Healing Power of Music: Music as Medicine, will include musical selections including pieces by J.S. Bach, the Beatles, and more.
In 2016, Guitarist Eric Despard received a call that would change his life. Author, guitarist and Medical Musician Andrew Schulman sought out Eric to begin personal training with him and Medical Musician co-founder Dr. Marvin McMillen, Chief of Perioperative Care at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. After working with Dr. McMillen and Schulman for many months, Eric began playing at the bedsides of critically ill patients in the Critical Care Unit at BMC. In the summer of 2017 Eric received additional training at a 50-hour workshop at BMC and continues to work towards full certification. Despard is also a founding Board Member of the Medical Musician Initiative, which strives to advance the awareness of Medical Music.
Eric Despard is an Assistant Professor of Humanities and the Director of Music at Southern Vermont College. He is also an Affiliate Artist of classical guitar at Middlebury College, and an Instructor of Guitar at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He is a graduate of the Hartt School and Yale School of Music and regularly performs solo and with various rock, blues, jazz and classical ensembles.
The free program is generously sponsored by the Roberta and Russell Housman Charitable Foundation. Manchester Community Library is located at 138 Cemetery Ave. in Manchester Center, VT. For more information, contact the Library at 802-362-2607.
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