In Music We Trust, a student organization dedicated to bringing music and happiness to nursing homes in the area, recently held their third concert ever at the Regency House Health and Rehabilitation Center. Eleven Choate musicians performed for the seniors (in life, not school).
Michael Zhou ’18 and Mark Su ’18 are the founders of this student organization. They instituted the club this year after laying the groundwork during their sophomore year. Zhou created the name “In Music We Trust” because he believed it clearly delivered the club’s purpose: trusting music to heal, to support, to connect, and to break barriers. Su claims that although there is a religious connotation to the name, it has hidden benefits. Su commented, “I think having a religious aspect to the club’s name helps form connections.”
Although the club is fairly new, many people are eager to join. Su remarked, “Although there is a limited number of people that can go on the trips, lots of people want to participate.” Currently, there are about 70 members.
They held their first concert at the Skyview Center, a nursing home only about ten minutes away from Choate. Ten students performed for the seniors there and helped spread the word about the club to more students. The second concert was held at the Yale Psychiatric Center, at which they performed in front of small children. Zhou explained their decisions when it comes to performance venues, saying “Some people give us suggestions regarding where we should perform through social media.” After they receive a suggestion, Zhou and Su first reach out to the people in charge of the nursing home, then visit the place once in order to check whether the environment is safe and whether the audience is attentive before actually taking the performers to perform. Su comments, “We both like to prepare for events because we both enjoy communicating with strangers.” Their extensive planning routine allows for the students performing to feel safe and happy.
Zhou explained that his favorite part of the entire process is when the performers sing “Happy Birthday” at the end of the concert because he believes it makes people, well, happy. Su states that the ultimate goal of the club is to spread love through music, as well as happiness to not only the audience members, but also the performers. He emphasizes the value of having the experience of giving rather than simply receiving.
