Wichita Symphony offers free ‘Wellness Wednesdays’ as a salve to pandemic

Whenever Holly Mulcahy visits Wichita, she makes coffee or lunch dates with patrons of the Wichita Symphony, not only as an ambassador for the orchestra but to find out about them as individuals.

Her visit last November showed some coincidences that alarmed her.

“It was really unprompted that each of these people these three different times, three different backgrounds that all said the same thing and that all triggered something for me,” said Mulcahy, concertmaster and partner for audience engagement. “They all said they were worried about their mental health in the upcoming months.”

There’s always some blues that come with shorter days, she said, but in 2020 it was compounded by social distancing, limited interaction and not being able to see families.

“There’s a lot of anxiety and fear and depression and I thought, you know what? This is what music is for,” Mulcahy said from her home in Chicago.

She approached the symphony board about assuaging those feelings and they enthusiastically approved her idea for what became “Wellness Wednesdays,” a weekly series of videos that debuted Jan. 13 and are scheduled to continue at least through the end of February.

“It’s just a nice way to give people a point to pause in their day so they can feel a little better,” Mulcahy said.

The videos, so far 10-20 minutes, are presented as “offerings,” she said, with discussion about music and various aspects of mental health. All are available at wichitasymphony.org/wellness-wednesdays.

The most recent video compares music to a weighted blanket, comforting people in times of stress. Mulcahy discusses the comfort of music with Daniel Hege, Wichita Symphony conductor and musical director, and Dr. Shannon Loeck, a psychiatrist at the University of Kansas Med Center-Wichita.

Loeck, who works in crisis management in the emergency department and is a clinical instructor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, said “Wellness Wednesdays are coming along at just the right time.

“There really is a need right now,” she said. “With the pandemic going on for so long, people who have never had any kind of behavioral health problems, ever …, don’t know how to deal with it. They don’t know how to manage.”

Loeck said she has eclectic musical tastes for different moods and had a background in music as a tour manager for a reggae band.

“Music has a very profound effect on a lot of people,” she said. “This kind of initiative is a way to have people who are used to going to the symphony experience music in a different way but bringing new people into the fold and showing them how music can kind of help with their emotions and help them feel a little bit better and give them another outlet to make them feel better.”

Mulcahy said she has not only heard waves of appreciation from symphony patrons, but it has given a boost to musicians as well.

“It really generates a lot of energy and conversation — what can music do for people and how can it be used in positive, interesting ways,” she said. “It’s really invigorated our outlook on the potential we have that’s basically untapped. While it’s helping people … it’s also igniting us and giving us ideas and looking at our art in a new way.”

Mulcahy said she is considering extending the run of “Wellness Wednesdays.”

“If people are really catching on and there’s good energy to keep going, we’ll look at keeping it going,” she said. “It’s crucial right now just to offer a little respite for people.”