UNO Alumna Directs Orchestra of High School, UNO Music Students

Members of Millard North High School Orchestra, mentored by University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) School of Music students, came together to perform at the UNMC Durham Outpatient Center on Thursday Dec. 6.

The performance culminated from a semester long service-learning project, "Sound Health; Bringing Music to Medicine". This collaborative project partners the UNMC Cancer Center Healing Arts program, Millard North High School, and UNO School of Music.

The performers were led by UNO alumna Debbie Martinez. Martinez holds a Bachelor of Music Education from UNO. Recently, Martinez was awarded Nebraska’s National Federation of State High School Association’s (NFHS) 2018-19 Outstanding Music Educator of the Year. The NFHS award by the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) is in collaboration with the Nebraska Music Educators Association (NMEA).

The mission of "Sound Health" is to enrich the healthcare environment for patients, families, health care providers and staff through live music while providing music students with an opportunity for service learning and professional performing experience. The goals of Sound Health are to contribute to a healing environment; to give music students service learning opportunities; and to break down the "fourth wall" barriers, connecting musicians to their audiences and vice versa.

Sound Health began in 2009 when Dr. Mary Perkinson, Coordinator of String Studies at UNO's School of Music, experienced first-hand the calming effects of live music through the Cleveland Clinic's Performing Arts Program during her father-in-law's stay for surgery. While, still a graduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Perkinson wanted to be on the giving end of similar experiences and founded Sound Health.

Since its inception, Sound Health has provided over 100 performances by over 100 musicians for thousands of patients, staff, and visitors in Madison, WI and the Omaha metro.