Please join us at our upcoming Volunteer Orientation and learn how you can share your musical inspiration and uplift the lives of hospitalized children!!
“It was a true honor to come and play music at the Children’s Hospital. Helping others through music is every musician’s responsibility, and The Art of Elysium gave us an opportunity to reach out to the community. It was a great time for us and the kids”- Ari Picker, Lost In The Trees
Thank you so much for your interest in The Art of Elysium. We look forward to getting you involved!
As Volunteer Artists for The Art of Elysium we ask that you begin your journey with us by attending a one-time mandatory Volunteer Artist Orientation. The Orientation is developed specifically to educate and support Artists in providing fun, interactive workshops that allow children and teens to be creative and explore a wide range of artistic mediums. Through the training session you will also receive information regarding working with medically fragile children in the hospital environment.
*Volunteers MUST be 18 years of age.
**All Volunteer Artists MUST be 18 years of age**
Wednesday, August 31st 6:30-8:30pm General Volunteer Artist Orientation (Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Music, Theatre/Media Arts, Arts Based Self-Esteem)
Thank you and I look forward to meeting you!
Los Angeles Volunteer Artist Orientations:
For more information, including location, please contact Leslie Culp, Program Director-LA, at lculp@theartofelysium.org
New York Volunteer Artist Orientations:
For more information regarding New York Volunteer Artists Orientations, please contact Rachel Glickman, Program Director-NY, at rglickman@theartofelysium.org
I had been working in a hospital and looking for some way to play music there. Saying, “Hey, can I drop by with my guitar and sing a few songs in one of your inpatient facilities?” didn’t seem to be getting me very far. You can imagine there is quite a bit of red tape to go through. Then a friend introduced me to a long-time Art of Elysium volunteer, Scotty Lund. Scotty was and continues to be extremely passionate about his volunteering, so I knew it was worth a try.
After you spend an hour or two singing with kids you are in a very good humor. You’ll carry that good feeling around for quite sometime afterward. It rubs off on those around you, and it takes the sting out of those things in day-to-day life that might otherwise get up your ire. The only drawback is that you may end up being that guy no one wants to be around because he’s in a good mood all the time. I’ll chance it though…
I’ve met some wonderful people while volunteering—in particular the person who got me started, Scotty Lund, who is a better man than he is a drummer, and he is a fantastic drummer. I’ve done the songwriting workshop out in Idyllwild where my wife, Brita, and I helped a group of children write their own song and then perform it for their families that same evening. It was wonderful to spend time with those children, and it was humbling to learn that an 8 year old can do my job as well as I can.
We have been so fortunate to have some wonderful new Volunteer Musicians join our family and share their talent in our hospital workshops!! Lucy Walsh inspired children to write their own music, Bill Baird shared his inspiration, Johnny Sneed, Scotty Lund and Naomi Greenwald jammed out at Shriners Hospital, Nancy Kuo, brought her beautiful violin sounds, John Clinebell went room to room at the USC Medical Center, and Ari Shine and Adrienne Pierce sang together awakening imaginations at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Thank you so much to all of our Volunteer Musicians for dedicating your time!!
As Volunteer Artists for The Art of Elysium we ask that you begin your journey with us by attending a one-time mandatory Volunteer Artist Orientation. The Orientation is developed specifically to educate and support Artists in providing fun, interactive workshops that allow children and teens to be creative and explore a wide range of artistic mediums. Through the training session you will also receive information regarding working with medically fragile children in the hospital environment.
Our February music orientation date in Los Angeles is :
Wednesday, February 9th 6:30-8:30pm
(Musicians, Songwriters, DJs, Vocalists)
For more information, including location, please contact Leslie Culp, Program Director-LA, at lculp@theartofelysium.org
For more information regarding New York Volunteer Artists Orientations, please contact Rachel Glickman, Program Director-NY, at rglickman@theartofelysium.org.
On January 15th, guests were treated to Mark Mothersbaugh’s vision of heaven at The Art of Elysium’s 4th annual HEAVEN Gala! The evening was marked by incredible musical performances that led up to a jaw dropping eight song set by DEVO. Performances included Rain Phoenix, Angela McCluskey with Paul Cantelon, and The Sonus Quartet with the L.A. Ladies Choir! The evening also included DJ sets from Chris Holmes, Elijah Wood, Myles Hendrik, and Lance Rock! Special thanks to all of the musicians and DJs who donated their time, contributing to such a special event. Check out this video of DEVO performing Whip It at the Gala!
Check out this video from our recent Elysium Sessions showcase on November 20th! Madi Diaz donated her time and gave such a magical performance! The audience was speechless! Thank you Madi for sharing your music with us, helping to raise money and spread awareness for The Art of Elysium’s music programming!
Tim Jones, Musician I started volunteering for A of E in 2004. I’ve always loved playing music for kids. They’re the best audience in the world—easy to please, genuinely interested, and brutally honest. My brother Andrew had profound brain damage from an unknown illness in his infancy and suffered from cerebral palsy until he passed away in 1994. My niece and nephew also have cerebral palsy from a disease called gluteric acedemia, so I’ve spent a lot of time in and around hospitals and illness. And if there’s anything I can do to help people forget about that for a minute or an entire songwriting session, then I’m more than happy to do it. Giving in this way is the most human thing to do.
Plus, it’s therapuetic for me. It’s very easy to get lost in your self-importance and the constant struggle to expand one’s own good fortune, so to be reminded of really how silly all that is in the grand scheme of things is probably the best therapy anyone could receive. People first sang and played music to soothe the soul and to celebrate the great joy that they’ve found in life. I’ve definitely wanted to come home and write songs after bedside visits.”
Our recent Elysium Sessions show with Gift Horse Project at Largo was so incredibly special. Gift Horse Project collaborated with special guests Emily Kokal (War Paint), Cameron McGill ( Cameron McGill and What Army), Joe Sumner ( Fiction Plane), and Leslie Stevens (Leslie Stevens and the Badgers) to create a truly one of a kind musical experience. It was so inspiring to witness musicians collaborating on stage and performing for Elysium Sessions. Check out photos here!
Los Einstein, who recently joined us at our Holiday party at the Totally Kids Healthcare Center, are generously donating one hundred percent of Itunes sales from their album “Can’t Let the Dream Die” to Elysium Sessions!! Money raised helps us continue to bring musical inspiration into the lives of hospitalized children! It’s an amazing album- please check it out here and spread the word!
As Volunteer Artists for The Art of Elysium we ask that you begin your journey with us by attending a one-time mandatory Volunteer Artist Orientation. The Orientation is developed specifically to educate and support Artists in providing fun, interactive workshops that allow children and teens to be creative and explore a wide range of artistic mediums. Through the training session you will also receive information regarding working with medically fragile children in the hospital environment.
