News & Politics
Hospitals have been some of the places hit hardest by COVID-19. For months now, doctors, nurses and other staff have been working to save the lives of patients sickened by the coronavirus while also keeping themselves safe. A group of Milwaukee-area musicians has been offering comfort by providing hospital workers a way to escape — if only for a few minutes. The Black String Triage Ensemble was formed to provide spiritual and emotional healing by playing at the scenes of shootings and overdoses. But in recent weeks, the musicians have added emergency rooms to their list of venues. When the group shows up, the goal is to allow people to unburden themselves, says the ensemble's founder and musical director, Dayvin Hallmon. “It’s the permission to grieve so that you can on the other side of that collect yourself and continue to go about your day. We are the release valve. Our job is to catch the tears as they fall,” he says. Hallmon's orchestra has been playing outside of hospital