The show must go on. Music is Medicine, a pre-health club that performs for patients in hospitals, held its third annual talent show on Thursday, March 16. The event was a midterm stress-reliever for students to come together and showcase their musical talents.
This year’s show took place at Thomas Hunter Hall 208 with pizza and refreshments provided. Students in attendance could either perform or just watch and support their peers.
“A big part of what we do is build community and make friends,” said club president Dana Infante in her welcoming speech.
According to Infante, she said the rules were simple to have “fun” and be “supportive”. It was not a competition but rather an open-mic karaoke style showcase.
“This is a space where people can make friends, collaborate, and bond over common interests like music and healthcare…music can help reduce stress among college students,” said Infante.
The show began with a scheduled lineup of students who signed up via Google Forms before the event. In chronological order the students were a freshman named Abby, MaryKate Wee, Tatiana Bryan, and Vivian Hew all covering a variety of music genres such as pop and jazz.
When sophomore Cindy Preston was up to perform the show hit a roadblock. Static interference from the speakers made the music inaudible. An audio-visual service tech stepped in to assess the situation taking nearly 15 minutes out of the show. Everyone who watched had a laugh about it. Once the issues were resolved the show went back on track and Preston performed her rock cover of Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done”.
“When things don’t go as planned, we roll with it and try to fix the issue.” said Infante about dealing with technical issues while performing.
Next up was Shahd Badawi with a cover of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever”. Badawi previously won USG’s Spring 2022 Hunter’s Got Talent show with the same cover. She got the loudest applause out of all who performed.
Vice president Dilara Portelli was so impressed she even approached Badawi with an offer to join Music is Medicine, taking down her email. Portelli stated they take the opportunity to seek out talent in their shows and recruit new members to the club.
The last to perform on the official lineup was Noor Kureshi performing a cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”. After Kureshi the stage was open to anyone who wanted to sing until the show ended. The event concluded without any further technical difficulties.
“I think music and being therapeutic for students throughout midterms finals week, or any other stressful situation within their lives,” said vice president Portelli on the importance of the event.
Portelli continued on a personal note, “I’d like to say that that’s why I found my escape through music because it was a stress reliever for me…aside from being just therapeutic, and an escape from reality I think music also can bond students together through similar experiences or musical taste.”
The talent show originated as an idea of the pre-health department back in 2020. The first show was held virtually but has since become an annual event. This year marks its third edition.
