Jazz beat the blues
MANILA, Philippines — Music is a universal language that speaks directly to the soul.
Listening to music unleashes different emotions and most of the time it brings peace to the heart. Perhaps, with the emotions that it conjures, music can also have the power to heal.
Non-profit organization Natasha Goulbourn Foundation (NGF) continues to bring forth its advocacy and dedication of achieving the best mental and emotional health for Filipinos through music as it stages Jazz Beyond the Blues, a fundraising concert, on Sept. 10 at the New World Makati Hotel. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the organization’s scholarship program for Psychology majors in state and private universities.
The concert, which will be held in cooperation with the Embassy of Singapore, will feature world-class jazz artists Rani Singam and Andrew Lim from Singapore, Serge Le Goueff from Australia, and our very own Bituin Escalante, Pilita Corrales, Michael Willams and Nicole Asensio.
Why jazz music?
NGF founder Jeannie Goulbourn said at a press conference held recently at the New World Makati Hotel that jazz has been found by experts to be beneficial to people who are depressed.
According to recent studies, listening to jazz music has significant mental and physical benefits for its listeners as it reportedly increases one’s heart rate, boosts productivity, offers better sleep, reduces stress, among other advantages.
Guest speaker Jan Briane Astom, a pianist and music therapist, said that in general, “Music can be a great tool to stimulate the brain of a person who is depressed. While therapy sessions can help clients gain insights, music and other creative methods can add another layer of understanding about themselves and others. Sometimes, music feels safer than words in expressing emotions that words alone cannot, thus helping clients to express themselves better.”
The concert, which coincides with the World Suicide Prevention Day (Sept. 10), also signals the launch of NGF’s sustainability program called the Mindstrong Movement, a holistic initiative that encompasses activities, healing therapies, sports, nutrition and other wellness modalities, as well as the NGF’s Music Therapy Program.
Goulbourn also pointed out that they chose the beneficiaries — Psychology students from state and private universities — because the country needs more psychologists to help address its growing number of mental health problems. (UP-PGH’s local research says one in three Filipinos has a mental health problem. This is backed by the National Statistics Office’s report that mental illness is the third most common form of disability in the country after visual and hearing disabilities.)
“Our dream is for NGF to have 100 Psychology scholars. Why? Because in the country today, we only have about 6,000 psychologists to 110 million Filipinos. With this concert, for every 20 seats, half of the proceeds will go to a scholar,” she said.
For her part, Singaporean Ambassador Kok Li Peng, who will be Goulbourn’s co-host at the concert, said, “There is no such thing as being happy all the time. I think this is the goal that we all strive for. But we also need to be aware that someone close to us is unhappy and why he or she is unhappy. We should not shy away on reaching out to say ‘How are you?’ or ‘What can I do for you?’ even ‘You’re not alone.’ These are simple messages but they matter quite a lot.”
So on Sept. 10, let us celebrate life, hope and love through an evening of jazz music and friendship.
(For more information, call Pixie Mathay at 811-6856 or 0917-8153636.)
