With the soft melodies of a ukulele filling the room, students, faculty and community members were given a chance to escape their worries beneath a blanket of stars on Monday afternoon.
Once a month, Health4U, an MSU health promotion program, holds a “Rest With Music” event in Abrams Planetarium.
The event, which ?is free and open to anyone who needs a restful retreat, features live music in the relaxing darkness of the planetarium.
The ukulele duo of MSU alumni Ryan Hunt and Ben Fuhrman were the most recent performers for “Rest With Music.”
The two played an arrangement that spread across ?many different genres of music — everything from The Beatles to Irving Berlin. As they strummed the strings of their ukuleles, the two created an atmosphere that made Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” feel like a soothing lullaby.
Stars slowly began to dot the ceiling as Hunt and Fuhrman started to perform, the light gradually growing stronger as each song followed the other. The shadowy outline of trees appeared along with the stars, giving audience members the illusion of laying in the forest at night as the clouds floated above them.
Hunt said he felt this was a good way for everyone to take advantage of MSU’s resources, adding that it was fun to ?see the planetarium thinking outside of the box with this new event.
“It felt tranquil the whole time,” said education sophomore Nicole Bush. “As the clouds went across the projection, all of my thoughts ?and problems went with ?them.”
Though the planetarium has been holding a “Relax Under the Stars” session for 10 years, Health4U put “Rest With Music” into action October 2013. Jon Novello, ?a Health4U counselor, said ?the idea stemmed from a combination of his interests in mental health and music.
“We know music has a ?specific impact on our emotions,” he said. “It can excite us, it can make us sad. The impact it has is amazing.”
Novello, who teaches a stress management class, taught ?a class last spring on the ?emotional impact of music. ?One of his students told him that, while she liked the class, she thought that people would like a place where they could go, listen to music and “just chill out.”
This sparked Health4U’s partnership with Abrams ?Planetarium. They plan on ?continuing their live music performances throughout the year.
The next session is scheduled for March 17, when music theory professor Ron Newman and associate trumpet professor Rich Illman will play jazz tunes.
“I think this is important because it gives people in the middle of a work or school week a chance to come out, chill and relax,” Novello said. “Everyone that likes music talks about using music to relax.”
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