So incredibly meaningful. The veteran is in his last hours and his partner so wanted peace for him. Thank you for giving it. I think his nurse also needed it and I know she was so appreciative.” ~ Elizabeth Holman, Palliative Care Psychologist
“That was like a slow rollercoaster through my memories. I’m picturing swinging to a memory of my mom who passed a few years ago and then to my wife and kids. Like memories swinging down a hallway. I never realized how soothing the cello is.” ~ Patient at VA Colorado
“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I didn’t think about the accident once.” ~ Surgical patient at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
“The string of smaller-scale performances ended with an unbelievable display of skill on the cello by Melanie Ambler M.D. ’25. Returning the atmosphere to one of pensiveness, Ambler’s solo was the best of the symposium that night.
When Ambler walked onstage in a sunset-yellow dress and first introduced us to her cello, Shelby, I thought we would hear a joyful, light-hearted solo. However, the story she told through her improvised piece was much more complex.
Ambler spoke of a patient whom she met on her rotations, a fellow musician who’d gotten in a motor accident and was worried he could not play music again. On the day she decided to bring her cello in and play for the patient, his IV machine was malfunctioning with incessant alarms. To recreate this scene, pianist Aaron Wilk Ph.D. ’22 M.D. ’24 mimicked the rhythm of the IV alarm, playing the repeating motif on the musical note B.
As Wilk’s playing embodied just how annoying the alarm’s beeping was for the patient, Ambler set her bow on string and utterly transformed the scene. The backdrop of the IV alarm became a steady base note for the sweeping, melancholic chords and phrases that Ambler teased out.
The melody she composed appeared simple — free from fast-moving adrenaline swirls or catchy swing tunes. But her improvisation spanned the entire fingerboard, plumbing the solid depths of the C string as well as the ethereal upper register. Ambler imbued her improvisation with a deeply personal and touching quality, turning the irritating noise of a broken alarm into something magical. No wonder the patient lay in tears at the end of it — we all did.”
Melanie Ambler 