From left: Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine award recipients Bernie Williams, jazz guitarist; Gabriel A. Sara, MD; drummer Roy Haynes; and patient Kaley Clavell
A performance by Tony Yazbeck, lead actor in the Broadway musical On the Town, set the stage for the tenth annual “What a Wonderful World” Gala, hosted by the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at The Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan.
The Louis and Lucille Armstrong Music Therapy Department at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, established two decades ago as part of Louis Armstrong’s legacy, was the foundation for the expanded programs of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine. Every year, the Louis Armstrong Center honors patients, physicians, and prominent musicians who embody the spirit of music therapy.
Mercedes Ellington, a dancer, choreographer, and granddaughter of Duke Ellington, and Bill Daughtry, host of WBGO jazz and sports radio programs, were co-emcees at the event in October, which included live music performances, and a silent auction to benefit the Louis Armstrong Center’s clinical programs for adults and children.
This year’s award recipients were:
Kaley Clavell, a college student and former patient at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, who had surgery to remove a tumor last summer. Ms. Clavell spent a week in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where her recovery was enhanced with daily sessions from Louis Armstrong Center music therapists.
Roy Haynes, an iconic American jazz drummer who has influenced and shaped jazz for more than 50 years, playing with such legendary artists as Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan.
Gabriel A. Sara, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Medicine (Hematology, Medical Oncology), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who established the Helen Sawaya Fund, a philanthropic program dedicated to improving the experience of cancer patients at Mount Sinai Roosevelt through art, music therapy, reflexology, and other therapies.
Bernie Williams, a former New York Yankee and also a highly praised, Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist who has recorded two albums, and the co-author of a book examining the relationship between musical artistry and athletic performance.
The Louis Armstrong Center’s team treats patients using the most current music psychotherapy techniques in areas such as meditation, pain management, sedation, and breathing.