Hush at Woodend (Vic) Winter Arts Festival

The Children’s Hospitals’ Hush Collection –music for complete calm – is the ongoing work of Dr Catherine Crock. Talented local musicians and co-directors of the Woodend Winter Arts Festival, Jacqueline Ogeil and John O’Donnell, have generously donated their time and talents to record a new CD.

Proceeds from this collection of CDs go to pediatric pain management research and the beautiful music itself helps alleviate children’s pain and distress when undergoing medical procedures.

Hush Volume 6: Reflections

This latest CD of peaceful and serene piano, organ and harpsichord music featuring John O’Donnell on organ and piano and Jacqueline Ogeil on harpsichord and organ will be launched by Fran Bailey, Federal Minister for Small Business and Tourism, at 5.00 pm Friday June 8th during at St Ambrose Church Hall, Woodend. The concert is free and all are welcome to attend.

Macedon Ranges’ Woodend Winter Arts Festival is in its third year.

During this three day festival of music, literary and visual arts visitors will experience twenty-nine events and over sixty-seven artists, musicians and writers.

The festival directors are maintaining their commitment to providing world-class chamber music in the Macedon Ranges with ‘concert hall artists without the concert-hall prices.’ Ticket prices are over 50% cheaper than those you would get in the city.

Woodend is an hour’s drive out of Melbourne and the region was made famous by generations of 19th century sightseers and holiday makers visiting Hanging Rock, a place of spiritual significance for the area’s indigenous people… most will remember the film ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’.

Woodend is surrounded by wineries and vineyards, which will be open to welcome visitors with some offering special products and discounts to Festival patrons. More info will be provided in the Program guide available on the Festival weekend.

About Hush…

The Hush Collection was established by Dr Catherine Crock, after discovering the soothing effect music had on children, parents and hospital staff. Dr Crock sees the impact that peaceful music has on the children.

In her work at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Dr Crock performs bone marrow and lumbar puncture tests on oncology patients and researches procedural pain in children. Many of her patients come in weekly or monthly for painful procedures so she started looking at ways to make that experience easier for them.

“Although many of the children may have not been exposed to classical music before, I find they are interested and engaged in listening to it, rather than the noises of the operating theatre,” says Cathy.

The CDs will be available from mid June at ABC Shops, Dymocks, Readings, Discurio, Thomas’ and JB Hi Fi or www.hush.org.au for $24.95. $16.00 from each sale goes to Australian children’s hospitals.

Since the first Hush CD was released proceeds of more than $500,000 have been used to fund a new pain management program at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, a palliative care nurse at Westmead Hospital’s Bear Cottage, patient-controlled analgesia pumps at Perth’s Princess Margaret Hospital, and music therapy in Newcastle and Brisbane and other children’s Hospitals.

The Hush Collection CDs are now used in wards, treatment areas and operating theatres in children’s hospitals around Australia, in many different areas including wards, physiotherapy, orthotics, dentistry and also in waiting areas, pathology, palliative care and hospital TV music channels.