Dr. Phillips Center Supports Stroke Survivors and Their Recovery Through Creative Music Making
STROKESTRA® wraps up three-day residency alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, AdventHealth and Florida Blue Foundation
Orlando, Fla. -- The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts expanded the STROKESTRA® program this May bringing together more than 15 stroke survivors, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), AdventHealth clinicians and local musicians. The stroke rehabilitation program aims to provide accessibility and patient-led recovery through the power of collective creative music-making.
“A lot of people don’t understand what we went through. It’s like we are in a land of forgotten," a participant shared with the arts center. “But you all didn’t look at us like we had a stroke and gave us a chance. You made us feel like humans again – like people. Thank you for believing in us and making us believe in ourselves again.”
STROKESTRA® requires no prior musical experience and rehabilitation depends on individual patient needs – including physical therapy, communication, social therapy and mood-lifting.
“It’s always been about building up this program and offering more frequent opportunities for participants,” says Kathy Ramsberger, president and CEO of Dr. Phillips Center. “Since before we opened our doors, we’ve been seeking opportunities to serve our community through arts & wellness initiatives and it's a priority to grow this department over the next five years.”
This year, community sessions were held at Dr. Phillips Center and inpatient sessions at AdventHealth Winter Park’s neurological rehabilitation unit. The program closed with an awe-inspiring performance with nearly 30 participants.
“The last two years of STROKESTRA® have been incredibly rewarding for our clinicians and stroke survivors in the community,” says Rich Moats, director of integrative and creative arts therapies at AdventHealth. “And now, to expand this amazing program directly into the hospital, it affirmed what our music therapists see daily - music forges connections and lifts the spirits of our patients.”
This residency allowed Nolan Williams Jr. to immerse himself in the program as he will assume the artistic director role, under the leadership of arts and wellness director, Alana Jackson. Connected through his love of the arts and his personal experience of seeing his father suffer a stroke nearly 20 years ago, Williams plans to bring additional artistic elements to the program.
STROKESTRA® is supported by AdventHealth, the American Friends of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Florida Blue Foundation, the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation and the Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation.
B-roll is available here.
AdventHealth VNR with interviews is available here.
About Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts: Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in downtown Orlando supported by the City of Orlando, Orange County, the City of Winter Park, the State of Florida and generous donors and sponsors. The 698,312-square-foot venue includes performance spaces like the Walt Disney Theater, the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater, the Steinmetz Hall and Judson's Live; and event spaces like the DeVos Family Room, the Rooftop Terrace and the Seneff Arts Plaza. In addition, the arts center's AdventHealth School of Arts offers performing arts education year-round. For more information, visit drphillipscenter.org. Follow on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.
About the AdventHealth Central Florida Division: AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division encompasses 17 hospitals and ERs in four counties across metro Orlando. The world-class hospitals, combined with a comprehensive outpatient care network, see more than 3.5 million patient visits annually. AdventHealth also has an expansive research portfolio in Central Florida, with more than 650 clinical trials and studies in progress. The organization has a deep commitment to serving the community and has a local financial impact of more than $1 billion annually. AdventHealth and its team members are responsible for nearly 20 percent of Central Florida’s economy. The division’s flagship campus — AdventHealth Orlando — boasts nationally and internationally recognized programs and serves as a major tertiary and quaternary referral hospital for much of the Southeast, the Caribbean and Latin America. Quality specialty care is provided through AdventHealth Institutes, which is nationally recognized in numerous specialties. AdventHealth Orlando has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report, Healthgrades, Newsweek and the Leapfrog Group. Learn more about the Central Florida Division on our Newsroom.