More Than Just Music: Michelle Frohlich-Klinger’s Work With Musicians On Call
Recently, we interviewed Michelle Frohlich-Klinger, who is the Secretary of our National Board of Directors. We asked her questions about her journey throughout Musicians On Call and the path that led her here.
Michelle Frohlich-Klinger’s journey first started about 15 years ago when she was doing fundraising for what is now Nicholas Children’s Hospital. She was doing art to help patients heal through painting and drawing. In her first attempt at fundraising, she put all of the money raised towards transforming the hospital walls into murals to take away the sterile feeling of a hospital. The goal was to bring life into the rooms. Following this, she really developed a love and interest for the connection between the arts and healing. As a result, she began attending different symposiums on the subject. When attending one in New York, she saw a pamphlet for Musicians On Call. What started out as a goal to simply have them come to Miami and possibly collaborate with Miami Children’s Hospital turned into something even bigger, as she then became a part of the Musicians on Call team.
When asked if there was a specific moment that drew her to this organization, Michelle says that when she first connected with Musicians On Call, she went to see one of the programs in New York and was completely blown away. She says that she was shocked to see “how music can transform the energy in a patient’s room and how it completely changes the vibe and can assist in changing a patient’s day.” It was in this moment that she was hooked and immediately knew that she had to bring this organization to Miami.
While there are so many special moments for Michelle, she highlighted one person in particular. In her time with Musicians On Call, they were asked to do a program for a patient who, unfortunately, was not going to survive. They were asked to bring a musician in to celebrate this patient’s 16th birthday. When organizing this, the musician asked MOC’s team what the patient liked to eat and to do, and specifically wrote a song with all of the patient’s favorite things in mind. Michelle said that this was truly a powerful experience.
Michelle is a person who believes in giving back and serving others. She highlights that it’s something as simple as just bringing music, volunteers, and patients together to do something positive. It’s giving your time and your talent that she believes not only aligns with the kind of person she is, but is also the example that she wants to give to her kids. The value of having a generous spirit. Anyone can be generous, but to have generosity with your time is completely invaluable.
She feels her greatest accomplishment with the organization is bringing it to Miami and starting three different programs in South Florida. She said that it is very refreshing to be able to bring something to a new area and have it be received so well. Musicians On Call has been able to play for so many patients, and Michelle has even been able to incorporate plenty of Miami’s Latin music into the program. She says that “it just feels really good to have been able to get that opportunity and support from the community.”
Michelle went on to explain that, unfortunately, at some point, we are all going to be inside a hospital, whether it is for ourselves or someone else. We’ve all had to go there, and it is nice to know that there is a little bit of what she calls a dose of joy coming to your room to brighten up your day. As we know, music is shown to have incredible healing effects, and it is truly a beautiful thing to know that something like this exists while you or a loved one is in the hospital. It is great to be able to do this and bring it to so many people all over the country.
Recently, she was honored at the La Musica Cura Celebration with the Leadership in Music Golden Ukulele because of her incredible role in launching Musicians on Call in South Florida. When asked what encouraged this work, Michelle says that through her time with Musicians On Call, Michelle has said that every time she visits the hospitals, it grounds her and gives her a purpose. She realizes how truly blessed she is to be able to do this and to be able to set this example for her kids of being generous with yourself. It has been really amazing to see the support of the community in terms of musicians and the musical talent in South Florida. She has tapped into a group of the community that is really welcoming and really supportive and generous with their time. She feels lucky and encouraged to have the opportunity to continue to watch it grow.
Michelle said that working with Musicians On Call has 100% impacted her perspective. You are able to see firsthand what music can actually do. We all see it on a day-to-day basis when we are feeling sad and listen to songs that make us cry, or when we are happy, we listen to songs to dance. You know, it completely shifts how we feel, so imagine what it does in a hospital. She has seen it firsthand, and with patients who maybe haven’t moved, and all of a sudden, you see some movement in their legs as the music plays. Even with babies, we see the physiological effect music has. They can’t really respond, but the impact of the music is even seen on the heart monitors. This is not just seen with patients but even with hospital staff. Michelle says that the nurses and staff are really her heroes because of what they have to deal with on a daily basis. Being able to bring them a bit of joy or relief through music in such an environment that can be filled with sadness is a beautiful thing to experience.