Min-Jung Kym
Piano Recital - 'Sounds for the Soul'
Tuesday 14th May 2024
Lewis Butler, Dr Sian Williams, Min-Jung Kym, Dr Emma Kipps, June Torrance, Sir Douglas Flint
The Steinway Story
Many of us can testify to the healing power of music. Listening to music is said to help release endorphins which can reduce stress levels. Imagine how more powerful that is when the music is live and played by a talented pianist.
So, you can understand our sadness when the 19th century Schiedmayer grand piano we had been kindly given and which was played constantly was damaged in a flood five years ago.
We knew the best grands in the world are Steinways, so we called them. (We are nothing if not optimists here.) George Soole took the call. He pointed out the excessive cost of buying such an iconic instrument and suggested we try and find a second hand piano. As I said, we are optimists, so we decided to fund raise and, with a generous donation from one of the pianists – and a great deal of help from George – six months later we were able to buy the piano we now have.
Our rota of volunteer pianists, give their time to play for patients, visitors, and staff. The joy and pleasure this gives is impossible to measure. Hearing a piano being played live when arriving for an appointment at The Royal Marsden Hospital has a calming, reassuring effect.
For some, sadly, it may be one of the final sounds they hear. A young couple recently asked if ‘our song’ could be played. The pianist obliged. The following week a message was left at the reception desk addressed to the ‘pianist with the yellow hair.’ It read, “Thank you so much for playing for us. My husband died two days later. But you will never know the joy you gave us for that short time. I will remember it for ever.”
This is just one of the many stories, from children playing for a family member who is a patient, to even being played at a wedding. The Steinway piano plays a major part in many people’s lives at the Royal Marsden Hospital.
Written by June Torrance, Honorary President, Friends of The Royal Marsden, Chelsea
Many of us can testify to the healing power of music. Listening to music is said to help release endorphins which can reduce stress levels. Imagine how more powerful that is when the music is live and played by a talented pianist.
So, you can understand our sadness when the 19th century Schiedmayer grand piano we had been kindly given and which was played constantly was damaged in a flood five years ago.
We knew the best grands in the world are Steinways, so we called them. (We are nothing if not optimists here.) George Soole took the call. He pointed out the excessive cost of buying such an iconic instrument and suggested we try and find a second hand piano. As I said, we are optimists, so we decided to fund raise and, with a generous donation from one of the pianists – and a great deal of help from George – six months later we were able to buy the piano we now have.
Our rota of volunteer pianists, give their time to play for patients, visitors, and staff. The joy and pleasure this gives is impossible to measure. Hearing a piano being played live when arriving for an appointment at The Royal Marsden Hospital has a calming, reassuring effect.
For some, sadly, it may be one of the final sounds they hear. A young couple recently asked if ‘our song’ could be played. The pianist obliged. The following week a message was left at the reception desk addressed to the ‘pianist with the yellow hair.’ It read, “Thank you so much for playing for us. My husband died two days later. But you will never know the joy you gave us for that short time. I will remember it for ever.”
This is just one of the many stories, from children playing for a family member who is a patient, to even being played at a wedding. The Steinway piano plays a major part in many people’s lives at the Royal Marsden Hospital.
Written by June Torrance, Honorary President, Friends of The Royal Marsden, Chelsea
