President Michael D. Higgins to attend performance of Bewitched!

New work was composed by Ian Wilson and inspired byTallaght Hospital stroke patients and the healthcare workers who treated them.

The President, Michael D Higgins has accepted an invitation from Dr Ronan Collins to attend a performance of a new work that was composed here in the stroke unit of Tallaght Hospital by composer Ian Wilson. The work is being toured thanks to a grant from the Arts Council, and the performance will take place on the 13th March at 6pm in the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

While Ian Wilson was Composer-in-Residence at the stroke unit for three months he wrote a new work for Soprano (Ms Deirdre Moynihan) and String Quartet (two violins, viola and double bass). The piece is based on the experiences of patients with stroke and the staff who worked with them in Tallaght hospoital. The final work is entitled 'Bewitched'. Members of The Irish Chamber Orchestra returned to the hospital following a successful residency in 2006, performing for patients and conducting open rehearsals of the composition-in-progress. Patients and staff in the Age Related Health Care Unit were crucial to developing this new work.

A study carried out from 2005 to 2006 found that live music in hospital was found to enhance the quality of the aestheic environment of the hospital, with both patients and staff stating that listening to live music helped them to relax, feel happier and more positive.

The work was first performed in the hospital on Wednesday November 24th 2010 to great acclaim and the project was awarded the Arts Council Touring Award to help bring this innovative performance to four diverse venues in 2011/2012.