Music & Medicine

The Music and Medicine program works with the Keck Music Society student interest group to organize concerts, coordinate free piano lessons, and bring outside artists to campus in order to support well-being and resiliency; enhance listening, communication, and interpersonal connections skills; and build community on campus.

When Music Is the Best Medicine - The New York Times

Music Recordings

These are famous piano pieces that for centuries and decades have brought happiness, optimism, and peace to our human souls and brains. This music is effective for relaxation and stress management and can have a profound effect on both the emotions and the body. Faster music as in Chopin’s Valse C-Sharp Minor Op. 64 No. 2 can make you feel more alert and concentrate better. Upbeat music as in some pieces from Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood Op. 15 can make you feel more optimistic and positive about life. A slower tempo in other pieces from Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood Op. 15 or Rachmaninoff’s Musical Moment Op. 16 No. 3 can quiet your mind and relax your muscles, making you feel soothed while releasing the stress of the day.

All pieces have been performed by Zora Mihailovich. The password to listen to these recordings is “zora“

Chopin Valse C-Sharp Minor Op. 64 No. 2 (length 3:26) (https://vimeo.com/412053688)
Schumann Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) Op. 15 (length 15:43) (https://vimeo.com/411894173)
Rachmaninoff Musical Moments Op. 16 No. 3 (length 6:41) (https://vimeo.com/412053880)

Late Musician-In-Residence

Zora Mihailovich was internationally recognized as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, recording artist, and educator. She was Artist-in-Residence and Professor of Piano at the University of Rochester New York, a Visiting Adjunct Professor for Piano at the Eastman School of Music New York, Professor for Piano at the University of Belgrade School of Music, and a Guest Artist at the California Institute of Arts, California Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, California State University Fullerton, New York University, and University of Arizona School of Music Tucson. She is Steinway Artist and a Musical Ambassador of the City of New Orleans. Most recently, Zora was the musician-in-residence at the Keck School of Medicine’s HEAL Program. She got her bachelor’s and master’s degree in piano performance at the University of Belgrade School of Music. She studied piano performance at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecila in Rome (Italy) and at the University of Southern California. Mihailovich performed in recitals and as orchestral soloist throughout Europe and North America including London’s Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Washington’s DAR Constitution Hall, Brussels’ Conservatoire Royal, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Warsaw’s Philharmonic Hall. She recorded several commercial CDs including Rubinstein Works for Piano, Chopin Piano Sonatas, Rachmaninov 2nd Piano Concerto, Franck Symphonic Variations, Mozart Piano Sonatas, Rachmaninov Sonata, Six Musical Moments and Preludes, Bach Partitas, and Brahms Sonata and Intermezzi.

The HEAL Program hosted their first annual Zora Mihailovich Memorial Concert this year to honor the late musician.

Click here to watch event recording

Keck Music Society

Piano Lessons

Did you know that the Keck Music Society offers free piano lessons to Keck School of Medicine students?

To learn more about this opportunity, contact KSOMHealProgram@med.usc.edu

Keck Music Society is a group of medical student musicians who enjoy playing together and sharing our music with patients in the hospital. Our hope is to build connections among musicians at Keck and to bring music to our hospitals and campus. Currently, we perform at the Pediatric Ward at LAC, Norris Cancer Center, and Keck Hospital, but we are always looking to expand and create more musical opportunities.

We welcome musicians and singers of all levels. This is a great way to meet and play with other student musicians as well as to interact one-on-one with patients in a different way than you would normally. The patients have genuinely expressed their appreciation– we’ve also been told by the nurse staff that patients have shown measurable improvements in their recovery because of your music! We’re looking forward to meeting you and playing music together!

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