ABOUT
SHARING NOTES

In 2012, student cellist Allegra Montanari saw a huge gap in where music was going versus where it was needed most. After having conversations with friends at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, she realized that there was an opportunity and began organizing visits from fellow musicians to people receiving treatment at the Lurie Cancer Center. Thus, Sharing Notes was born.

Today, Sharing Notes improves quality of life for Chicago hospital patients through intimate, engaging, uplifting live music performances either in-person or virtually using FaceTime or Zoom. In 2020 alone, Sharing Notes musicians performed 73 concerts serving over 3,000 patients in seven Chicagoland hospitals. Sharing Notes provides high quality performance arts and unique, individualized live musical experiences for patients who otherwise wouldn't have access. Moving beyond the boundaries of traditional recitals, performances focus on the audience with careful musical selection and personalized interactions.

Music provides distraction to break the isolation of illness and long hospital stays and Sharing Notes musicians talk with patients, take requests, lead games with children and react sensitively to patients. The live, virtual bedside concerts are as close to in-person concerts as possible and demonstrate the organization's commitment to mission, adaptability to rapid change, and innovation during this crisis.