Former member of rock band Boston now helping heal patients with the power of music
By Sharon Chin
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SAN FRANCISCO, California (KPIX) — A former performing member of the rock band Boston is harnessing the power of harmony and healing with free music visits to bring people comfort and joy.
It’s a far cry from his touring days with the platinum-selling band between 2012 and 2014. Yet guitarist and vocalist David Victor knows something big could happen among those in his small audience recently at a Veterans Affairs facility in Martinez.
“It’s like the sense of smell, said Victor. You smell something, and it awakens you. I think music has that same effect,” said Victor.
He first saw that effect more than a decade ago when he performed with the band at a Southern California children’s hospital for charity.
“At the time, I was singing a lot of Boston songs that, you know, 8-year-olds had not been exposed to, but yet, their eyes would light up,” he noted.
That opened his eyes to music’s power to heal.
“It was so meaningful and beautiful, and I just thought, this should be,” he said.
So Victor founded Harmony and Healing in 2019. Since then, the San Ramon-based nonprofit has provided free live music visits – in person and over live video conferencing – to hundreds of patients in hospice, hospitals and rehab facilities nationwide.
A digital marketing strategist by day, Victor has seen the impact of his musical visits on people in memory care.
“They’ll go back to when they were 18-and-a-half years old, driving a Camaro or something, having the time of their life,” Victor said. “It’s something only music can do.”
Harmony and Healing’s regular visits are part of the VA’s recreational therapy care for the whole person. Air Force veteran Mancy Gant, who deals with PTSD, ends his day on a high note.
“I had a mindset where I was able to calm down and listen to the lyrics of the song, and it really felt good,” Gant said.
Victor struck the right chord for Army vet Norman Kimball’s sense of well-being.
“Life hasn’t been good for me for the last 15 years, and this is something that I really need to keep going forward and not falling back,” Kimball said.
Harmony and Healing’s team of two dozen artists includes Jordyn Foley, who portrays princesses like Elsa from Disney’s “Frozen” movie. The monthly visits bring a special kind of magic to patients receiving respite and end-of-life care at George Mark Children’s House in San Leandro.
The facility’s child life coordinator Kyle Amsler said the patients look forward to each visit.
“It brings so much joy, so much life into the house,” Amsler said. “David has really understood the power of music for kids in pediatric palliative care.”.
Victor hopes to reach more people nationwide: he is seeking more professional artists in a variety of music genres.
The artists are paid, and part of the money is raised through private fundraisers at people’s homes. People can host a benefit concert for Harmony and Healing to perform and generate funds to help the nonprofit expand its gift of music to others.
“I feel wonderful that we can do this and make people happy,” Victor said.
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