www.altents.ie
The Adelaide & Meath Hospitals, incorporating The National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght, in collaboration with Alternative Entertainments, are to run a series of lunchtime traditional music sessions in the hospital in Tallaght. The series is called Trad San Ospidéal and will feature performances and workshops by local musicians in selected wards and in the hospital’s public Atrium.

Alternative Entertainments is a multi-discipline arts organisations based in Tallaght that has programmed artistic events in the area for the past 25 years. As well as the regular festivals, exhibitions, recitals, workshops and lectures that the organisation runs it also operates a full time music school, the Des Carty Music School, that offers classes in Tallaght, Rathcoole, and Celbridge. This year the school will open venues in Lucan, Blessington and Nutgrove.
The hospital Art office was established in 2003 to promote the arts in the hospital, (particularly to people who cannot access traditional venues) and to widen access to arts in a hospital environment.The hospital has recently established a relationship with the Des Carty Music School and now wishes to develop an innovative traditional arts programme in the hospital with three aims:
1.   To bring traditional music to those who cannot access traditional venues due to disability in the stroke and neurology services in the hospital
2.   To provide platform space for emerging young traditional musicians in the Tallaght area. We propose to hold a series of traditional sessions throughout 2008 in the hospital.
3.   To bring traditional music to new audiences and hold workshops with children in the hospital school to pass on the tradition through educational workshops.
Two musicians would perform in the hospital each week for 2 hours.
Musicians will be sourced by the Des Carty Music School, in conjunction with Hilary Moss, the hospital’s Arts Officer. The series will feature a variety of performers and instruments. The programme will be divided into four sections over the year. Last year AltEnts and the hospital ran the very successful Trad Óg festival – an event showcasing young talent in Irish music – and this year the festival will form part of Trad San Ospidéal.
In 2006 the hospital linked with the Des Carty Music School to bring traditional music to patients in the hospital. This collaboration recognised that many patients prefer traditional music and also that patients have difficulty in accessing venues to hear traditional music due to long hospital stays or poor health. The hospital and the Des Carty Music School now wish to develop a significant project to bring traditional music to the hospital and explore new opportunities and venues within the hospital environment.

THERAPEUTIC BENEFIT OF LIVE MUSIC FOR PATIENTS
The hospital has undertaken a number of pieces of work regarding the therapeutic benefit of live music for patients in hospital.
The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) was Orchestra in Residence at the hospital from 2005 – 2006. This was the first time an orchestra were resident in a hospital in Ireland. Members of the ICO visited the hospital once a month and performed for patients in many locations, including Ruttle Ward, Age Related Healthcare and Psychiatry. The Arts Office carried out an independent evaluation of the benefit of live music for patients and the report entitled A Cure for the Soul? was launched in October 2006 at the National Concert Hall.
Live music in hospital was found to enhance the quality of the aesthetic environment of the hospital, with both patients and staff stated that listening to live music helped them to relax, feel happier and more positive. Patients’ perception of the hospital was affected positively by live music in waiting areas. Music was found to have strong emotional effect and the individual preferences and experiences of patients need to be carefully taken into account when programming music in hospital. Listening to live music while in hospital was found to have positive benefits with few negative effects.
The first phase of recitals will run as follow:
February
Monday 4 th, Monday 11th , Monday 18th and Monday 25 th
March
Monday 3 rd and Monday 10th
12.30pm – 1.20pm Atrium.
1.30pm – 2.30pm Age-Related Healthcare ward.
April
Thursday 3 rd, Thursday 10th , Thursday 17th, Thursday 24 th and Wednesday 30th
May
Wednesday 7 th, Wednesday 14th and Wednesday 21 st
1.00pm – 1.50pm Atrium.
2.00pm – 3.00pm Psychiatry ward.
Recitals in the hospital Atrium are free and open to the public. Recitals in hospital wards are for the benefit of patients,
their families and staff in the ward only.