Harmony & Healing, a nonprofit that brings free live music performances to patients and residents in healthcare facilities, has published 75 Music and Healing Statistics (September 2026), a sourced research resource released September 30, 2026, at https://www.harmonyandhealing.org/music-and-healing-statistics/. The resource gathers findings on how people respond to live and recorded music across hospital, hospice, dementia, cancer, and aging contexts, with each statistic traced to the peer-reviewed journal, federal agency, national survey, or research group that produced it.
Every figure on the page is dated and credited; the page is reviewed monthly, and it includes six charts drawn by Harmony & Healing from the published numbers. The page states plainly that none of the research claims music cures anything, and it flags small studies and weak evidence where they appear.
Several of the compiled findings concern live music specifically. In a small randomized trial of 32 people with moderate to severe dementia and apathy, 69% engaged positively with live interactive music, against 25% with pre-recorded music and 12.5% during silence (International Psychogeriatrics, December 2006). Among 111 cancer inpatients in Italy, state anxiety fell 3.87 points after weekly 45- to 60-minute live concerts held on oncology units (European Journal of Cancer Care, November 2017). In a randomized pilot trial of 90 hemodialysis patients in Spain, four weeks of live classical music during treatment lowered anxiety scores by 5.35 points and depression scores by 5.88 points on average (PLoS One, August 2024).
Other statistics place these findings in a broader context. In a 14-year study of 6,710 adults aged 50 and older in England, people who went to concerts, theatre, museums or galleries every few months or more had a 31% lower risk of dying during follow-up than those who never did; the study was observational and cannot prove cause (The BMJ, December 2019). For the first time, 53.1% of all Medicare decedents in 2024 were enrolled in hospice at the time of death (National Alliance for Care at Home, 2025 Edition). An estimated 7.4 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's in 2026 (Alzheimer's Association, 2026 Edition). In 2024, 33% of U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 felt lonely some of the time or often (University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, December 2024). Giving to health organizations rose 6.1% to an estimated $61.43 billion in 2025 (Giving USA Foundation, June 2026).
Harmony and Healing live music performances are given by professional musicians who play for groups of patients and residents in the common areas, day rooms, and lounges of hospitals, hospices, and care facilities. Facilities never pay for a visit and patients and families never pay anything, as donors cover the cost. Facilities served include George Mark Children's House, a pediatric hospice, and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, and the organization began virtual visits with veterans at the Martinez VA Hospital in 2023.
"The research keeps pointing to something musicians see in the room," said David Victor, Founder and Executive Director of Harmony & Healing. "People respond to music played live and together, and that is exactly what the data describes. The goal of this resource is to let the findings speak for themselves, with every number tied to its source and the limits noted honestly."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChZG8ElDzh0
Harmony & Healing provides free live group music performances for patients and residents of hospitals, hospices and care facilities in the Bay Area. Harmony and Healing is based at 11040 Bollinger Canyon Road, Suite E-938, San Ramon, CA 94582, and can be reached at (925) 236-0217 or at www.harmonyandhealing.org. The organization was founded by David Victor, a former guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the band BOSTON.
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For more information about Harmony & Healing, contact the company here:
Harmony & Healing
David Victor
(925) 236-0217
hello@harmonyandhealing.org
11040 Bollinger Canyon Road Suite E-938, San Ramon, CA 94582
