Sometimes music captures what words alone cannot.
That’s why music therapists Ashley Lundquist and Sarah Rossi helped create Voices, a musical album comprising 15 songs written by patients undergoing cancer treatment at Houston Methodist.
“Many people don’t know what it feels like to be in this position,” says Ashley. “This gives a small look into the world of cancer from an insider’s perspective.”
Ashley Lundquist and Sarah Rossi provide music therapy to patients undergoing chemotherapy at Houston Methodist Sugar Land and Houston Methodist Hospital (Texas Medical Center). In music therapy, a board-certified music therapist uses music within a therapeutic relationship to achieve patient-specific goals through interventions such as songwriting.
Songwriting can help people express their identity, emotions and experiences. Several patients who participated in songwriting as part of their music therapy treatment told Sarah and Ashley that they wanted to share their original music to encourage other cancer patients, dedicate songs to loved ones and communicate their experiences.
So, in 2020, Sarah and Ashley began working with patients to build a collection of songs that would be written specifically by patients undergoing chemotherapy. These songs, collected through early 2023, came together to become Voices.
“The songwriting process is different for each patient because music therapy treatment is highly individualized,” says Ashley.
During the songwriting process, the music therapist, either Ashley or Sarah, worked to create a safe space within which a patient can safely express feelings and experiences. Together, the patient and music therapist chose the song’s elements, such as its genre, instrumentation, melody and lyrics. The songs often integrated recordings of the patients speaking or singing. Sometimes the patient wrote all the lyrics independently; other times, Ashley or Sarah drafted lyrics based on the patient’s words and finalized lyrics with the patient. Common themes included faith, love, hardships associated with cancer, and coping mechanisms.
“Many of the lyrics are deeply personal,” says Sarah. “We feel honored that patients and their families entrusted us with creating and sharing these themes of significance through their music.”
Once the songs were gathered, the collaboration continued.
“We wanted to think of a way that we could visually represent the collaborative yet personal components of the album,” says Sarah.
CPAM’s visual arts project specialist Melissa Aytenfisu came up with an idea. Inspired by the recent Bloom project, she thought the cover could combine artwork from album participants and supporters into a single image.
Throughout June 2023, people sent in small grids and squares, some of which used colors representative of certain types of cancer. Staff, patients and cancer support group participants all contributed artwork.
The album was officially shared with the community through an album release ceremony August 27 at Houston Methodist Sugar Land, where patients, loved ones, supporters and staff members gathered to listen to the songs, celebrate the album’s release and honor patients who contributed to the album. These included patients who passed away, patients who continued to undergo cancer treatment, and patients within their survivorship journey. Contributors to the album, along with their loved ones, were honored individually during the ceremony. Some participants performed their original music live, while others shared stories and reflections that evoked both tears and laughter.
“I have already had the pleasure of sharing songs with patients in individual and support group settings, where they have expressed that they can relate to the lyrics,” says Sarah. “We hope for this album to serve as a tool that allows future cancer patients to feel understood & validated.”
Click here to listen to the album.
