FOR David Castles, playing piano at the Bendigo Health cancer centre is a way to give back to the community.<\/p>\n
A pianist of some 65 years, Mr Castles is one of a handful of instrumentalists taking part in the health service\u2019s volunteer music and arts project.<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic has been part of my life forever so I thought \u2018well maybe that\u2019s something I can be involved with\u2019,\u201d Mr Castles said.<\/p>\n
The project sees musicians play in the waiting area of the cancer centre in an effort to create a calming environment for visitors.<\/p>\n
Ultimately the project is aimed at getting live music into the centre every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m playing once a week at the moment for a couple of hours on a Monday morning. For me it\u2019s great fun, I enjoy sharing my music with other people. I feel it\u2019s something I can give back to the community,\u201d Mr Castles said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cancer centre in particular is probably an area where people come in with some concerns and apprehensions so if I can make their day a little bit lighter by having a little bit of music playing in the background then I think that helps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Playing anything from classical pieces to stage musical numbers and popular tunes, Mr Castles said he regularly hears from passers-by as he performs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think every session I\u2019ve had a patient or a staff member come up and tap me on the shoulder and say \u2018thanks for what you\u2019re doing\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a Facebook post that the hospital put up and there\u2019s been a lot of comments on that, a number of staff and patients who walk through and even people who have been involved with the cancer centre who\u2019ve said it\u2019s great having music in these sorts of places, it just eases the tension and helps them relax a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n