Chairs line the room as excited chatter fills the air and children find their seats. A faint hum from a microphone mixes with violins warming up, signaling the start of the Healing with Harmonies performance. The opening notes of “A Whole New World” from Disney’s “Aladdin” fill the room.
Since its founding in 2015, Healing with Harmonies, a student-run music service organization at UT, has brought feel-good live music to audiences facing challenging circumstances in the greater Austin area. The organization regularly performs at venues such as Heritage Park Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center and Dell Children’s Medical Center for residents and patients. This past weekend, the group performed at the Helping Hand Home, playing arrangements of popular sing-along songs for the children.
Chemistry senior Ben Crowley, president of Healing with Harmonies, said the Helping Hand Home has become one of his favorite places to perform.
“They’ve always been so kind and so welcoming (to) us, and the kids there are always so kind, so fun to be around and always so engaged with whatever we bring repertoire-wise,” Crowley said.
The children’s excitement and engagement filled the room all evening, and it grew when Crowley announced the third song on the setlist would be “Golden,” the Billboard number one hit from the movie “KPop Demon Hunters.” Kids sang along and danced in their seats. When the song ended, they requested it be played again.
For members of Healing with Harmonies, performances like these offer a chance to share their love of music with the Austin community.
“We love our music, and we just want to share that with everyone in the area, no matter how big, no matter how small,” journalism junior Charles Bellomo said.
While putting together an entertaining performance is always a priority for the organization, members hope to leave the audience with more than just lyrics stuck in their heads.
“Our primary mission is to bring joy to people throughout the greater Austin area through music,” Crowley said. “It’s just a really fun and exciting way to give back by playing music.”
The final song of the evening sparked an eruption of cheers as Crowley announced they would play “Takedown,” also from “KPop Demon Hunters,” a song the children had requested during the group’s previous performance at the home.
For Helping Hand Home, visits from service organizations like Healing with Harmonies give children an opportunity to discover their interests and feel a stronger connection to the world around them.
“The more groups we have coming through, the more that is being offered to them, and they’re figuring out who they are and what they love,” said Jasmin Reardon, the volunteer and enrichment manager at Helping Hand Home. “It’s all those little identity-building moments that help them feel seen and create normalcy for them, so that while they’re in an institution, it feels like home, and it’s a continuation, not a disruption, of their lives.”
