Oregon State Hospital (OSH) staff has relaunched a popular concert series for patients to build community and unravel unhealthy behaviors that, for some, can be tied to listening to or playing music.  

It’s important to normalize community gatherings and experiences that patients may be exposed to when they return to their own communities, said Jesse Studenberg, an OSH-Salem music therapist who helped organize the concert series.  

“The goal for me is to create a sense of community and belonging,” Studenberg said. “Music is a powerful tool. It’s sharing a human experience with people and getting people to recognize the human experience of other people. That community aspect of music is why I got into music therapy.” 

The annual concert series was sidelined during the pandemic. After two successful concerts this year, the series is on pause until the summer when staff are hopeful to move the event outdoors for a festival-like feel. 

It’s a popular event that intentionally features musicians from across the state who connect with the audience through their music and stories about how music has affected their own wellbeing. Singer-songwriter Nick Jaina of Southern Oregon performed at a concert at OSH’s Junction City campus in January.

“One thing I love about the arts is to be able to connect with people in one specific moment,” Jaina said. “I love that the people in this room right now – these exact people, this exact configuration will never be this way again and it’s a really special moment to connect through music. I feel really privileged that I get to do this.”  

Portland-based percussionist and flutist Papi Fimbres performed at the hospital’s Salem campus in March. Fimbres performs in English and Spanish, and during the show he shared how his mother encouraged him to play music at a very young age to set him on a path away from the gang culture of his older siblings in their Los Angeles community. Music changed his life, he said.

“I started piano at three. Drums at five and flute at seven,” Fimbres said. “Music, for me is therapy. Music is my life. I’m using these instruments as a conduit, and I’m trying to channel this positive energy we need in this world.” 

As a clinical and evidence-based practice, music therapy uses musical interventions – songwriting, learning a new song, playing an instrument or even just listening to and talking about music – to help patients reach their personal non-musical goals. At OSH, patients can participate in music therapy through one-on-one and group sessions. Music therapists often collaborate with colleagues from other departments as well, using music to introduce concepts related to psychology and legal understanding, which addresses the most common barriers to discharge. 

“A lot of people bring up in music therapy group when they’re singing or playing an instrument that it’s the first time they’re doing it when they weren’t drunk or high,” Studenberg said. “The music culture often has this unfair connection with substance use and abuse – there’s a long history of that, and it’s good to show people engaging with creativity sober.” 

Music is a bridge for many patients to engage in treatment and to process and express their emotions and experiences.

“A lot of people come to the hospital totally distrustful of the judicial system and psychiatrists and medications and may not want to go to group, but I can always connect with somebody about their favorite album or the best concert they’ve gone to,” Studenberg said. “Nobody hesitates to engage in that conversation, and that could be the start of them being like, ‘OK, maybe the people here aren’t so bad. Maybe I should buy in a little bit and figure out how to move forward in my life.’”