University of Virginia Health System

When Sabrina Justice was diagnosed with leukemia at age 16, writing a song about her experience with fellow patient Lisa Robinson helped her to cope. Today Sabrina has a lot to celebrate: a clean bill of health, an upcoming marriage and the official release of her song Better at Seventeen.

Sabrina's song is just one of the compositions found on a new compact disc, Pandora's Box: Songs of Hope, produced by the University of Virginia Children's Medical Center (CMC). The 12 songs on the CD were written by adolescent patients at the CMC and were recorded by a host of local singers and musicians.

On Sunday, March 28, the CMC will hold a special event to celebrate the release of the CD and to honor the patients and musicians who created the songs. The musicians will perform several selections from the CD, and patients will discuss what the songs meant to them as they wrote them and worked with the musicians on the recordings. The event will be held at 2 p.m. in McLeod Auditorium and is free and open to the public. Parking is available across from McLeod Hall.

We've always been interested in how different forms of art can contribute to healing, said Nancy Artis, director of the CMC Hospital Education Program. Through the arts, we offer opportunities for creativity and self-expression at a time when children are experiencing a variety of emotions. Writing a song or making a quilt can give them an outlet for healing as well as a sense of accomplishment. After all, how many teenagers can say 'My song is on a CD.'

The project began in 1994 when the Hospital Education Program invited local teacher and songwriter David Kleiner to conduct a series of creative writing workshops for teenage patients. During a session on the fundamentals of writing poetry, Kleiner worked with the teens to set one of the poems to music. This led to the idea of creating an album, and the teens then worked with area musicians and writers to create the collection of songs. The CMC staff enlisted the help of local producer and musician Bobby Read, who recruited regional musicians such as John McCutcheon, Terri Allard, Gary Green, Ian Gilliam, Jeff Romano and Browning Porter to participate.

This project is something all of us were really flattered to be a part of, said Allard, vocalist for several songs on the CD. It's a wonderful way for the kids to express themselves. It was therapeutic. And it's one of those times when your music can make a little bit of a difference.

As a way to expand patient involvement, quilts created by other CMC adolescent patients were used on the booklet that accompanies the CD. As I see the quilts and hear the songs, I have a deep, deep sense of respect and reverence for each one of the adolescent patients — for the courage they showed and the unique way that each chose to share part of their story, said Marta Gilliam, Hospital Education Program teacher. As words became songs, I was struck over and over again with the integrity and sense of compassion, heart and respect that the musicians brought to the project. Ultimately what I feel is a sense of awe about the magnitude of the project.

Pandora's Box: Songs of Hope is available at the Charlottesville Wal-Mart or through the CMC by calling (804) 924-2658. CDs are $15, and cassette tapes are $10. Proceeds will benefit the CMC.

For more information, contact:
Nancy Artis, director of the CMC Hospital Education Program, at (804) 924-2658;
Marta Gilliam, Hospital Education Program teacher, at (804) 982-3485;
Dr. Richard Kesler, professor of pediatrics and medical director of the CMC, at (804) 982-1076.

March 16, 1999