ED Musos reunite to perform at ASM
In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, ACEM President Dr Clare Skinner posted a video on social media of fingers playing the piano and asked, “Can anyone write some new lyrics for this song?” The song was Billy Joel’s ‘New York State of Mind’ – with the lyrics edited to ‘Stay at Home State of Mind’. With that one tweet, Clare sparked what would become the first emergency care virtual ensemble, the ED Musos.
The first person to reply was an emergency doctor from Sydney, whose husband then began writing lyrics on Twitter. A FACEM from Newcastle was next to join, followed by her sister. The tweets – and the group – quickly grew.
Soon there were over 400 healthcare workers and their friends, family and colleagues from emergency departments across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States.
Clare recalled, “We wanted the ED Musos to include everyone – doctors, nurses, ward clerks, paramedics, with a variety of cultures, ages and professions.”
““We wanted the ED Musos to include everyone – doctors, nurses, ward clerks, paramedics, with a variety of cultures, ages and professions.””
Some were experienced singers, instrumentalists, and dancers, while others were beginners who were performing with a group for the first time. They each sent in a recording of themselves singing or playing the song, and Clare arranged for them to be edited them into a single recording.
“Lockdown was isolating,” she said. “Even being at work was quite a lonely experience because we had to wear PPE and take meal breaks alone. We were also feeling homesick and separated from people. We were desperate to see our loved ones and colleagues in other places. I thought making a music video would be a fun and positive thing to do.”
In June 2020, the video for ‘Stay at Home State of Mind’ was finalised, and shared on YouTube.
After ‘Stay At Home State of Mind’ came a waiata from Aotearoa New Zealand, ‘Te Aroha’, (love) then the group covered ‘A Whole New World’ from the movie Aladdin – with support from Disney. “I wrote to Disney, sent them one of our videos, and asked for permission to use a song,”” said Clare. “They said, ‘That sounds wonderful, go for it. We really want to support this.’”
Crowded House’s Neil Finn posted about the ED Musos cover of their song, ‘Better Be Home Soon’, on his Facebook page.
In Christmas 2020, the ED Musos reworked the lines of traditional favourites, including ‘Jingle Bells’, with lyrics changed to, ‘Oh what joy it is to work, in ED Christmas Day’ and ‘Joy to the World’ which became, ‘Joy to the world, the next shift comes. Let hand over begin’.
For their next song, the ED Musos wanted to find one that resonated with people from both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. “Crowded House was the obvious choice for the band,” Clare said, “and we conducted a Facebook poll to choose the song.”
‘Better Be Home Soon’ won the vote. The group recorded the song and posted it on their YouTube channel. After Crowded House shared the video, views grew to over 38,000 and media covered the story.
“The group performed at the NSW Australian of the Year Awards. “With a virtual group, you don’t get to hear anyone else sing until everything is mixed later,” said Clare, “so it was amazing to perform together and hear each other, in real time.””
The ED Musos were invited to perform at the NSW Australian of the Year Awards at Luna Park in Sydney in November 2021, live streamed on ABC iView. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only four members of the group were able to participate. They met each other in person for the first time just before going on stage that day. “With a virtual group, you don’t get to hear anyone else sing until everything is mixed later,” said Clare, “so it was amazing to perform together and hear each other, in real time.”
Although COVID-19 restrictions of this period have passed and the musicians don’t have to meet virtually, they remain connected – and sometimes perform. They last took to the stage for ICEM in Melbourne, and next, a group of them will perform at the closing ceremony of the ACEM Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) 2023 in Canberra.
Clare is hoping to recruit new performers to the group and encourages anyone who likes to sing, or play an instrument, to join in on the day. “We’ve arranged for a piano, other instruments and some sheet music to be there for impromptu music-making.”
Want to be involved? Email edmusos2020@gmail.com.
