For a child, moving to a new home can be scary. No matter how state-of-the-art that home may be, it is an unfamiliar place, with new sounds and where everything is strange.  Falling asleep can be difficult.  That's why the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation is honoured that, on May 26, Maestro Kent Nagano and musicians from the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal volunteered their time to perform a series of lullabies to help patients and their families adjust to the new facility and soothe them to sleep. In an unprecedented partnership between the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation and the OSM, the atrium of the new Children's was transformed into a one-of-a-kind concert hall just two days after the big move, complete with a giant bed for patients and their families to enjoy the performance in comfort.  Under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano the musicians performed pieces specially selected for a very special audience. Among the selections played for the children were:

• Bach, Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043, II. Largo ma non tanto
• Beintus, yuuyake koyake (Burning Sunset)
• Dvořák, Symphony no. 9 in E minor, op. 95, « From New World », II. Largo
• Brahms, Wiegenlied, op. 49, no. 4

"The OSM is eager and grateful for this opportunity to bring the gift of music to patients and families," says Maestro Kent Nagano.  "It is our sincere hope that through these timeless masterpieces of the classic repertoire we can help ease the transition to the new Children's and enhance the healing environment." "Having the OSM perform live for our hospitalized patients is an absolute privilege. We cannot imagine a better way for our kids to get used to an unfamiliar environment and to welcome them to the new Children's," added Marie-Josée Gariépy, President of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation.  

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