Playing for Health: Bringing Music, Care and Community Together
Near East University continues to bring art into everyday life through its “Playing for Health” project, a music performance series carried out at Near East University Hospital under the coordination of the Atatürk Faculty of Education. Designed around the healing and unifying power of music, the project transforms the hospital’s foyer and corridors into a shared cultural space where students, academics, health professionals, patients, and visitors come together through live performances.
Launched by the Department of Music Education within the Division of Fine Arts Education, the project has created a meaningful bridge between artistic practice and the hospital environment. Throughout the academic term, Music Education students performed regular piano recitals at Near East University Hospital, gaining valuable experience in front of diverse audiences while contributing to the emotional atmosphere of the hospital. By bringing music into a setting usually associated with treatment and waiting, the project offered patients, relatives, and healthcare staff a moment of calm, connection, and encouragement.
One of the most recent performances was the “Cypriot Music Piano Concert,” where Music Education students interpreted well-known Cypriot melodies on the piano. Held in the foyer area of Near East University Hospital, the concert brought together Near East University Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ, academics, healthcare professionals, students, and patients’ relatives.
The project also expanded during last summer months with performances by academic musicians and guest artists. Pianist Çağıl Cansu Şanlıdağ performed a classical piano repertoire including works by P. Scharwenka and J. Brahms, while Specialist İrade Melikova, Dr. Gözdem İlkay, and soprano Specialist İmge Dinçer also contributed to the series with piano and vocal performances. The continuation of the program during July and August reflected the strong interest generated by the project and helped sustain the presence of music within the hospital setting beyond the academic term.
As part of the same project, internationally recognized soprano Laden İnce also performed at Near East University Hospital, accompanied on piano by Nadya Kameneva. Their concert combined selected works from the classical repertoire with Cypriot melodies, including “Al Yemeni Mor Yemeni” and “Köprüden Geçmedim.” The performance highlighted the expressive range of voice and piano while once again bringing attention to the emotional and restorative role of art in healthcare spaces.
The “Playing for Health” series has grown into a rich artistic platform that brings together students, academic artists, and guest performers. In addition to the student performances and summer recitals, the program has included contributions from Specialist Deniz Amcazade, Specialist İrade Melikova, Dr. Gözdem İlkay, mezzo-soprano Assist. Prof. Dr. Neriman Soykunt Korbay, soprano Specialist İmge Dinçer, Dr. Ilias Abdullin, pianist Çağıl Cansu Şanlıdağ, Near East College student Selin Reşatoğlu, and guest artist Ayşe Deniz Necatigil.
Through this diversity of performers, the project has offered audiences a changing and dynamic program that reflects different styles, repertoires, and artistic experiences.
More than a concert series, “Playing for Health” represents an interdisciplinary and socially engaged approach to art. It supports students’ professional development, opens the hospital environment to cultural experience, and strengthens the connection between education, health, and community life. By placing music at the heart of a healthcare setting, Near East University demonstrates how artistic practice can contribute to well-being, shared experience, and social connection.
Selected Performances
As part of the “Playing for Health” project, several performances were also shared online, allowing the musical moments created at Near East University Hospital to reach a wider audience. Selected performances from the series can be viewed below: